General Debate

I move, That the House take note of miscellaneous business.

It’s really important today, and now at this time, perhaps more than recent times, where the Greens want to ensure a vision and a narrative for peaceful, collective action that explicitly rejects violence and aggression is put up above all of the noise that we have been hearing, as one of the most important parts of our kaupapa and the heart of Aotearoa that it can offer to all of us and around the world. The Green Party has always had a long history of actively supporting non-violence and working for collective action and totally rejecting aggression, working towards justice. We can see today why it is so important that disagreement is resolved peacefully, democratically, and in good faith. It is so important that we see conflict resolved in a way that restores our collective confidence in each other and in our systems, and especially in a way that restores everyone’s support to prioritise public health and collective wellbeing.

Standing against violence requires actively working for peace and justice, and we have seen that across Aotearoa from people of all experiences and background, whether it is people cooking for each other and caring for each other and gardening for each other and connecting with each other, putting masks on for each other, staying at home for each other, and being vaccinated for each other. Actively working for justice means purposefully naming the injustice and creating better systems to achieve what we all want to see. When there is unilateral violence and aggression, whether by State actors, like the Russian Government invading Ukraine right now, or by some of the individuals who are protesting right outside Parliament, who have assaulted and harassed and put up hateful, hateful vibes towards members of the public and our staff here—when that violence pervades, people get hurt.

Whether it is the violent premise of opposing public health mandates that have been put in place to protect children who are too young to be vaccinated, to protect our elderly kaumātua, or to protect immunocompromised and disabled people, that premise that opposes those safety protections is, at its heart, violent. And in war and violent conflict, it is the people on all sides with the least power and resource who are killed and hurt and traumatised, and we actively have to reject that violent conflict.

The protest outside has a violent premise and that harms the very people it pretends to support. So we see today both the fundamental importance of peaceful resolution and the challenges of building that world without violence. When people are threatened, the path to peaceful de-escalation becomes less clear. We’ve seen this, but we believe that when it is most important to speak up for the alternatives is exactly when, and long before we see violent conflict, and to speak up for collective action that says that together we will help those who need support the most, those who have been pushed to the sidelines and the margins the most.

We call on and support the community leadership, the grassroots leadership, the Tiriti justice - led positions that have provided an important framework for us all to achieve those goals. And the politicians and Government right here in this House and on Zoom have an integral role to play, whether that justice is increasing incomes for those on the absolute lowest and those receiving benefits, whether it is ensuring a living wage for all people, whether it is making sure we are treating housing as a human right and not just a way to build wealth for people who are already wealthy, whether it’s making sure that our health systems are properly resourced and authorised, whether it is making sure our schools and teachers and nurses and health workforce are properly supported and paid, whether it is strong climate action for generations to come or protecting our environment, that is our role. That is what we must pursue. Thank you, Mr Speaker.

In my maiden speech in Parliament 13 years ago, I said that in coming to this place, I was first and foremost the MP for Wellington Central, and it is in that capacity today that I want to speak in this general debate. Over the course of the last three weeks, the lives of many Wellington Central residents have been severely disrupted by the activities of those who have occupied Parliament and the surrounding streets.

When I say disrupted, I actually mean a great deal more than that. It is well beyond the inability to access their homes, the forced closure of businesses, schools, and public transport routes—which is bad enough in itself. Dozens of people have reported to me being abused, threatened, and intimidated—and even, in some cases, assaulted—by those who claim that they came here to peacefully protest. Among those who are treated that way are school pupils, often young women—abused because they are taking the important and sensible precaution of wearing a mask. One of the most heartbreaking sights for me has been witnessing school pupils needing to be protected by security guards as they have walked from the railway station to their respective schools. No young person should have to go through that, and the impact on some students has been significant to the point that they now will not go to school.

Among those who’ve been targeted by these so-called protesters have been our essential workers—the likes of those who work at our local supermarkets. The partner of one of those workers wrote to me, “Every day, going to work, she is abused by the protesters just for wearing a mask. She has to get a bus around the protesters to get to work, and walk twice the distance—at night—after her hard shift to get the bus home, again due to the protesters. Her wages have even been cut because the store now closes early due to the protesters.” I want to say to that worker, and to all of our essential workers, how grateful we are for the work that they do, and I want to add to that our managed isolation and quarantine staff and our health workers, who are under particular pressure at this moment in the pandemic.

Over the course of the last few weeks, as the local MP, my office and I have worked with local residents to try to help keep them safe. Working with the Wellington City Council, we have been able to relocate a number of residents who needed to be somewhere safer because they were pregnant, anxious, unable to get to the essential services that they need. I want to acknowledge all those agencies who have stepped up to help us.

I also want to acknowledge the women and men of the New Zealand Police, who have protected this building and the surrounding community, and who, as we speak, are engaged in a difficult and somewhat dangerous operation outside. As I’ve stated on a number of occasions over the last few weeks, the operational independence of the New Zealand Police is a vital part of our democratic society. Politicians cannot and should not be able to direct the police—it is vital that we uphold this. There are countries around the world where that happens, and we do not want to be one of those. That, of course, does not mean that as a local MP I agree or understand every decision that the police have made. I’ve raised concerns every time I have spoken to the police about the impact on Wellingtonians, but I want to acknowledge that the police’s job here is a tough one, and there is no easy decision in situations like this. No one likes to see the scenes that are taking place outside today, but the police have taken those actions after weeks of illegal and hurtful behaviour.

We have a rich history of peaceful protest in New Zealand, and particularly here at Parliament—I should know, I’ve led protests on to the grounds of Parliament. Upholding the right to peaceful protests is essential, but this protest has gone far beyond that. It is unlawful; it has urged violent and hateful acts on politicians and journalists. It is based on irrationality, conspiracy theories, and exploitation of the misguided by those with malignant intent. Others have spent time in this House talking about the motivations of those who are out there, and I will not go further into that today. What I do know, however, is that whatever points the protesters wanted to make, they have been made. And on behalf of Wellingtonians, we want you to go home. Please take your children home, so that we can all get on with our lives in peace.

I have another message for those who have occupied the streets and Parliament, but I don’t think it’s one that they want to hear. That is, that we are now two years on from the first case of COVID-19 in New Zealand this week. And for New Zealand, we have faced this one-in-100-year health and economic crisis together. We have relied on the values and principles that New Zealanders uphold to put people’s health and wellbeing first. We have saved lives and livelihoods. Nothing that the Government has done has been possible without New Zealanders choosing to look after each other by doing the right thing—be that locking down, keeping businesses going, shopping local, getting vaccinated, getting boosted, and more.

Two years of New Zealanders caring for one another, giving a damn about how we got through this together—that will be New Zealanders’ legacy from COVID-19, and I want to thank each and every New Zealander for what they have done to keep one another safe.

Just before I call the Hon Simon Bridges, I want to remind people who are participating remotely that the rules are the same for you as they are in the Chamber. It is not that appealing for me to watch people eating their lunch.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I want to empathise with the local member of Parliament for Wellington Central about the disruption that he spoke of in a heartfelt way there. But I do want to switch tack on what I think are a bunch of issues that are actually more important for New Zealanders overall—and certainly more important for young New Zealanders and our tomorrow—because today I asked the Minister of Finance, in this House, about public spending in this country. What we established was, I think, an incredibly avaricious Government; a Government that wants to spend and spend and spend. We established quite clearly, on the first supplementary question that I asked him—that is the first question after the primary one—that this Government is the second-highest spending Government in the Western World after the United States; second-biggest during the pandemic. It has spent and spent and spent. It is an outlier in that regard, far and away, as a proportion of GDP, spending higher than most other Western countries.

Now, the Minister didn’t agree with a quote I put to him, even though it was from an Australian paper of repute, The Australian, about the debt, and the biggest increase proportionately of debt in the Western World. But what is true, what he can’t deny, because it comes from his own documents, is that net core Crown debt is going from 36 percent, 37 percent right now—which, at least in New Zealand terms, in modern terms, is higher than it’s been—to over 40 percent next year. He—his Government—is spending over $20 billion more. By the way, if they cancelled the light rail, they wouldn’t have to do that. Then, what we also saw, what he would not deny, and I’ve asked him now a number of times in select committees and other places, is that, in this coming Budget—the biggest spend to date in the Western World after the United States—he will be spending $6 billion in operating allowances, as the boffins call it, or in new spending; more new money than we have ever seen at a Budget in New Zealand’s history. That, piled on top of what’s been, is excessive and is irresponsible, in the National Party’s view.

I’ll tell you why it matters—I’ll tell New Zealanders why it matters—because we are in a cost of living crisis at the moment. We have inflation at 5.9 percent. I intervened when the first speaker, Marama Davidson, was speaking; she mentioned gardening—well, cauliflower are $15 at the moment in New Zealand; I don’t think they have ever been that expensive. But everything is more expensive. Many New Zealanders have never seen this before in their adult lifetimes—I haven’t as a 45-year-old; I know I look much younger!—but that’s the reality of what we are in right now. Yes, let’s not be childish about this: a good chunk of it—oil prices; although there’s a lot of tax on that—is international. But what is also true is there’s a significant domestic aspect to it. The bank economists say so, and what they also say—most of them—is that big Government spending pushes it up. So we are in a situation, with that big Government spending, of inflation being higher than it needs to be. With inflation being higher than it needs to be, the Reserve Bank must push interest rates up higher than they need to be. And that hurts New Zealanders big time. Some are talking about recession; we’re seeing that in the paper today. I’m not necessarily predicting that, but it’s a real double whammy.

So the vicious cycle that New Zealanders are in right now, partly because of Grant Robertson and his avaricious Government, is the highest inflation in over 30 years is pushing interest rates up, more Government spending leading to higher inflation, leading to interest rates going up. It is not pretty. And all that National is saying—all we are saying—is, “Look, you know what? How about, from here on in, we rein it in a bit, we show some discipline, and we focus on quality?”

💬 Hon Member: What are you going to cut?

But the Government is avaricious and irresponsible, and they say, “Well, what are you going to cut?” Well, actually, a big chunk—that’s Grant Robertson’s words—is in health restructure. In a pandemic? In a situation, actually, where it doesn’t deliver a single new hip operation? That’s hip operation, not hip-hop, Chris Hipkins! It doesn’t deliver a new ICU bed. Actually, all it delivers is for Wellington consultants, who’re already doing well enough. The Waitematā District Health Board says it leads to real risks. So we say, look, rein it in, actually, in the interests of New Zealanders, so that we can get on top of this cost of living crisis that is hurting so many in this country.

Well, there you have it. Finally, the National Party have indicated what they’re going to cut: health spending. That is the one example that Simon Bridges could come up with of wasteful spending: in health. During a global pandemic, health is the one area they could come out with to indicate they’re going to cut. And, of course, they don’t want to acknowledge the big drivers of growth in Government spending over the last two years: the wage subsidy—

💬 Hon Simon Bridges: Bureaucrats.

—that’s kept people in work. “The bureaucrats.”, Simon Bridges says. Let’s talk about who he’s actually talking about when he talks about bureaucrats. Actually, the wage subsidy accounts for a significant number of those—the people who were actually keeping businesses afloat by making sure they could access the wage subsidy. He could also be talking about the contact tracing teams who have made sure that we have kept COVID-19 out of the community, employed by the Public Service. He could be talking about the extra staff working on the front lines at the Ministry of Social Development to make sure that we’ve actually got people getting the financial support that they need. Or the extra people at the IRD, who have been doing a similar job. He could be talking about the extra social workers at Oranga Tamariki, making sure that we’re protecting and caring for our most vulnerable children. He could be talking about the extra staff employed by the Ministry of Education to work, again, with our most vulnerable children. They’re not bureaucrats sitting in an office in Wellington; they are people who are in classrooms. They go into classrooms to help and to provide extra support for the most vulnerable kids. These are the people who the National Party thinks we should cut the jobs of. So I think that New Zealanders will utterly reject that.

I want to acknowledge that it is an uncertain time for New Zealanders and that there are Kiwis out there who are nervous about where we’re at with our COVID-19 response. Things have changed pretty dramatically in the last few weeks and I know that that has led to some New Zealanders feeling nervous, and we see that in some of the consumer spending patterns that we’re seeing at the moment. People are staying home voluntarily. They are isolating themselves. They are concerned about what they are seeing. They’re concerned about the increase in case numbers, and I want to speak directly to that.

We are now entering and we are now well into a new phase in our response to COVID-19. It is a very different phase to the one that we were in two years ago, when we were introducing restrictions, when we were stamping out the virus. There are now tools available to us that there weren’t two years ago. In New Zealand, we have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. I want to acknowledge that: 97 percent of eligible adult New Zealanders have received at least one dose of vaccination; 95 percent have received their second; 70 percent of eligible New Zealanders, as of today, have received a booster dose; 51 percent of children who are eligible have received at least one dose of vaccination. The result is that that’s changing the dynamic. We’re now dealing with Omicron, a variant that whilst it spreads faster, it is more transmissible. It is resulting in fewer people in hospital and fewer people having those severe responses to it.

So for many people who get Omicron in the next few weeks, it will be a relatively mild illness. They will be able to stay home and they will be able to get better. As a result, we have made other changes. The isolation rules have changed. It is now only those who have someone in their household who has COVID-19, who need to be isolating for that period. The rest of people who were otherwise previously called close contacts, they are able to go to work, but, of course, like all New Zealanders, they should be taking the preventative public health measures that we want everyone to take: wearing a mask, making sure that they’re monitoring for symptoms, washing their hands, maintaining distance where they can. Those things will help to slow and, potentially, stop the spread of the virus.

We do have a different way of testing now, which is faster. It’s giving us a faster turn-around in results. And while it wasn’t a method of testing that we wanted to see in our elimination phase, where we wanted the highest degree of accuracy possible, it is now something that we can use at this phase of our response.

There will be changes at the border. There are already changes at the border and we welcome back New Zealanders coming from Australia this week and, from the end of the week, Kiwis coming home from the rest of the world. In doing so, we acknowledge that it has been a tough two years for those who have been separated by border restrictions. It’s been a tough two years for those who have worked at the border, and it is to them that I want to address my final comments.

To Kiwis coming home: haere mai, welcome. We know that it’s been tough and we know that you’re keen to get here, and we welcome you home. To those who have worked at our borders, we simply say thank you. You are national heroes. We acknowledge that you have paid a significant personal price for the job that you have done, and we will make sure in this next phase, as things change, that you are treated fairly.

I want to start by acknowledging the comments made by the Hon Grant Robertson, the member of Parliament for Wellington Central. There’s no doubt that the protest out the front has been a disruption to people in this part of the city, and many across the country have looked at it with some wonderment as to how long it’s been able to go on for. I want to, in the same breath, though, acknowledge that the police have done a very good job in trying to ensure that there was the right to protest upheld; at the same time, not wanting to see it turn into an absolute debacle, as it so easily could have.

While, today, there will be some skirmishes as they undertake the clearance of the protests, I think it would be unreasonable for anyone to say that protesters haven’t had a fair opportunity. And if there is one thing I’d regret in all of this, it’s that the underlying issues that were raised by that protest have not seen the sort of debate level that might have been expected. There’s been a lot of talk about the removal of mandates. I’m encouraged by the Hon Chris Hipkins indicating that, post a peak in Omicron, they would be reconsidered, because we cannot go forward with two classes of citizenship, as we see at the moment.

We are also, at the moment, in a very interesting position where the country is facing, as the Hon Simon Bridges said, some extraordinary prices in supermarkets and service stations and in almost every other service that is provided within the economy. It is too easy and far too glib for the Government to simply say, “Well, it’s international conditions and there’s not much we can do about it.” The price of beef, for example, at a retail level, has gone up by over $7 since the start of this year—$7 a kilogram, I should say. If you exacerbate that across all of the staple items, it is becoming increasingly difficult for families in this country to live well.

So it is something that we can’t ignore, and for the Government to sort of say today, there’s going to be an additional $6 billion worth of expenditure by the Government in the coming Budget and then turn around to the Opposition and say, “What would the Opposition cut?”, that is a stupid question, in my opinion, because, firstly, if money hasn’t been spent yet, it can’t be cut. And that’s an argument, interestingly, I heard many politicians on the other side of the House make when they were in Opposition. And I can tell you that it is a fact that when a Government spends heavily—and sometimes that’s necessary; sometimes, yes, go to the balance sheet, and that’s what the Government has done, and we don’t disagree with that—and at times when inflation starts to run away, it simply exacerbates that because of the demands that that extra expenditure places on the economy. So an interesting time ahead.

Then, of course, we also face the prospect that one or two items that we use in our daily activities could be affected in price by the circumstances in the Ukraine. But what’s most at stake there is the change to the order of the world that we’ve understood post the Second World War. The aggression by Mr Putin and his regime against the Ukraine is unprecedented, it’s unnecessary, and, most of all, it’s unprovoked. It is a vanity project on his part and his part alone. So there needs to be extremely strong sanctions levelled against him. No matter what the Government says, our response so far has been light and it has been somewhat weak. To suggest that we’ve got a travel ban on people associated with the Putin regime is ridiculous when the whole country’s been under a travel ban for the last two years.

Then, of course, the idea that we will no longer have diplomatic discussions. Well, I’m sure that when the piece of paper indicating that to Mr Putin was pushed down the long table so that he could reach out and get it without coming into contact with anybody personally, he would have shaken in his boots at the prospect that New Zealand was no longer talking to Russia! We should be part of the international sanctions that are putting a real squeeze on the Russian economy. It’s sad to say that everyday Russians need to wake up and realise who’s sitting in the Kremlin and who’s doing things on their part. They are losing so many of their young people without even recognising—for their families—that they were being sent off into a war zone. We will support the sanctions bill. I look forward to the briefing next week.

Tēnā koe, Mr Speaker. Tēnā tātou katoa. My first offering in this general debate is to endorse the words of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Wellington Central MP, the Hon Grant Robertson. The way he described what Wellingtonians have endured over the past weeks is, I think, testament to the challenges that our people have faced in Wellington and in other parts of our country. What we want, though, is for our country to go back to normal as quick as possible, and this Government’s focus is to make sure that where we can, we will secure our future off the great health decisions and the great health leadership that we have done to make sure our country comes through this particular pandemic.

The Hon Chris Hipkins talked about the change of isolation rules. I want to, as defence Minister, thank all of our defence force personnel for their contribution to Operation Protect, which has seen hundreds of our defence force personnel represent us all in this country. As they continue to carry out their duties at managed isolation and quarantine, they have done it with aplomb, they have done it with extreme professionalism, and I want to acknowledge them. I want to acknowledge them because, as well as that, they have continued to be ready to respond when Aotearoa New Zealand needs them the most.

It is that reason that as we look towards our priorities for the defence force, I want to, once again, reiterate the priorities that this Government has agreed to, and two of those particular priorities are people and infrastructure in the defence force. Investing in our infrastructure ensures that our defence force personnel live and work in buildings that are not only healthy but they are safe and fit for purpose. It also provides much-needed economic stimulus for the regions where our people are based.

A good example of this is the Manawatū-Whanganui region. The new $250 million facility to support the new P-8A Poseidon aircraft being built at the base in Ōhākea currently provides work for 250 people and it is expected to grow to 400 at its peak. The workforce consists of 25 main subcontractors, of which, a third of them, approximately, are from that particular region. These are good examples of strong investment that will continue to secure our resilience and our future.

Also for the defence force, the Linton maintenance support facility replaces the aged and obsolete army workshop used to repair military equipment. Construction for this commenced in July 2021, using a local Manawatū contractor, and it is progressing to schedule and budget and is due for completion in May 2023. The project employs up to 180 people in the region directly, and 360 indirectly through local subcontractors and suppliers. Approved funding for the build is about $53.5 million.

These are the examples of securing our future as we come towards this stage of the pandemic. I’m proud of the work that we’ve done, and I’m proud of the decisions that we’ve made to continue to support our recovery and our resilience. But let’s be quite clear: we are in the grip of Omicron.

Last week, Māori Ministers made the announcement of a further $140 million to continue to support Māori Omicron and Pacific Omicron response in our community. I’m proud of the work we’ve done. The Prime Minister has already shouted that praise in answer to oral questions today, and I want to commend her support and the support of this Government for our Māori health providers and our Pacific health providers. I’ve spoken to a number of them, and they’re absolutely thrilled that there is more money there to continue to help them to secure their workforce into the future to continue to add to the capacity to allow them to respond to Omicron.

In my final seconds: 12 months ago, I started out on one of three tours around the country to push the vaccine amongst Māori communities. We still have a challenge up in front of us, whānau, and this is my plea to all Māori health providers and our communities: while tamariki vaccine rates continue to fall behind and Māori rates lag behind that of non-Māori, my plea is to every member of this House and to our community to bring our tamariki forward to make the right decision and to vaccinate. Kia ora, Mr Speaker.

Kia ora.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Reflecting on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, I can do no better than echo the words of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, which the Prime Minister, too, referenced in the House yesterday. President Putin’s invasion is a clear act of aggression, a blatant breach of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a violation of international law and the UN Charter by a permanent member of the UN Security Council. It’s the act of a bully brutally using its power in breach of international law. We’re seeing a devastating human cost as a result of Russia’s disregard for its obligations under the UN Charter and disregard for humanity, and I know that this House stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine.

In recent days, Russia has put its nuclear forces on high alert; a decision that increases the risk of miscalculation and with it, potentially catastrophic consequences for humanity. We’ve also seen neighbouring Belarus rightfully condemned for moves to allow Russia’s nuclear weapons to be stationed within its borders. In Kyiv and other major cities, civilians and civilian infrastructure are being targeted and hit by explosive weapons, bringing war directly into the backyards of innocent non-combatants and in violation of international humanitarian law. Credible reports of the use of cluster munitions have begun to come through; an indiscriminate weapon, which many countries, New Zealand included, recognise as being illegal under international law.

As disarmament and arms control Minister, times like these bring into sharp focus the need for a renewed focus internationally on disarmament and particularly the threat of nuclear weapons. This means not only limiting destruction when conflict occurs but reducing the tensions that lead to war breaking out in the first place. It’s a tough climate right now for nuclear disarmament. The nuclear-weapon States who also happen to be the permanent members of the Security Council, of which Russia is one, argue that the international security climate is too uncertain and too unstable to be ambitious about following through on their commitments to reduce and eliminate their nuclear arsenals. But President Putin, in threatening the use of nuclear weapons, in the course of an unprovoked invasion of a neighbouring country, has surely demonstrated that the opposite is true.

In times of crisis, the need for strong international law and multilateral institutions is most urgent. This is the very time we turn to the rules, norms, and safeguards to prevent conflict and reduce the suffering of civilians in war. While it’s hard right now to imagine Russia sitting down with the other nuclear-weapon States to agree new commitments to reduce and eliminate their nuclear weapons, that is precisely what is needed. As the world now works together to impose sanctions on Russia and to support Ukraine, we must be equally muscular and equally united in building out some multilateral institutions and strengthening international law. If we don’t, how will we avoid a renewed arms race, more breaches of the UN Charter, more conflict, and a much more dangerous world?

That is why New Zealand continues to advocate for States to uphold their existing obligations under international law, to hold accountable those who violate these obligations, and push for additional controls as new threats to peace and security emerge. A strong response by the international community to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shows that the world is capable of coming together and taking action on issues that matter. Our job now is to harness that unity and sense of purpose as we address the big disarmament issues of our time; issues that relate both to the prevention of conflict and to the protection of civilians when those efforts fail.

In New Zealand, you know, we may feel a long way from the war in Ukraine. History has shown again that conflict reverberates far beyond where the bombs are going off. And that’s true for a conventional conflict and, even more, where the use of nuclear weapons would be catastrophic, cross-border and intergenerational effects has been put on the table.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I would like to take note in the House today that no New Zealander likes to see the scenes currently out the front of Parliament right now. It is sad and distressing to see. However, the actions of the so-called protestors, which we have seen over the weeks, have been illegal in the sense that they have intimidated and, at times, assaulted members of the public. Constituents of mine have regularly contacted me out of sheer frustration that those New Zealanders that have been part of a team, those New Zealanders that have chosen to play their part to get us through one of the most difficult times in modern history, have worked so hard and feel sheer frustration at the actions outside the front of Parliament now.

At the same time, I would like to acknowledge the men and women of the New Zealand Police, who are working incredibly hard in unbelievably difficult circumstances right now. I acknowledge the time they’ve had to spend already, the risks they’ve put themselves under—and they continue to do so—in order for New Zealanders and Wellingtonians to go about their daily lives safely and for people to get to work and to get home again. I would like to acknowledge all of those people who have written to me and expressed their frustration over the last weeks, and I’m pleased that action is being taken to resolve what’s been occurring.

This Government has taken action at a time when it has been unprecedented. We have provided stable, united leadership through one of the most challenging events New Zealand has had to face in modern times. And throughout this pandemic, the Government has worked to save as many lives as possible and also to protect jobs and to cushion the blow to our local and our national economy. We’ve acted early and decisively to prevent the worst impacts we’ve seen in other countries around the world. Our approach has worked. We’ve seen the lowest number of deaths in the OECD. The front page of the Dominion Post today is projecting that possibly 3,000 lives have been saved through the actions taken. Also, we’ve seen, at the same time, unemployment at record low rates, being able to cope at a time when there’s huge pressures on our economy. These efforts and these results are a powerful confirmation of our collective effort as all New Zealanders. The measures that we have taken have saved lives and the policies that we have put in place have protected the lives and livelihoods of New Zealanders. We have done all this while continuing to make progress on the long-term challenges New Zealand faces: housing, child poverty, mental health, and climate change.

I have paid recognition to front-line Government workers, such as police, but I’d like to acknowledge teachers as well. As I send my kids off to school each day in times when numbers are increasing in terms of cases, they go into a calm, caring, and well-planned-out environment every single day. I’m hugely grateful as a parent for the effort that our teachers are doing every single day to put the best interests of our children forward. In order to do that, we want to be able to protect our school workforce by making medical-grade masks freely available. One of the best things we can do to keep front-line staff and students safe is to isolate—we know that—and that’s why positive cases are at home along with their family members. However, we also recognise that there is a need for rapid antigen testing (RAT), and that is why the Ministry of Education is ensuring that all of its regional officers have a supply of RATs on hand for schools and early learning services to access as needed. There are almost 700,000 RAT kits available for schools and early learning services.

This has been a hugely trying time for New Zealand but what we know is that we have worked to look after our people. We have worked to protect lives, to protect livelihoods, and to make sure New Zealanders, as a collective, are in the best place possible. We have a plan, and it has worked to date, and we know that it will continue to work. This has been achieved through a Government with strong leadership and a strong plan that is able to make sure the people in New Zealand are safe and looked after in one of the most challenging times we have seen in modern New Zealand history. Madam Speaker, thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. It’s a dramatic and unpredictable world in which we live, and, unfortunately, inflation is becoming the one thing that Kiwis can count on under this Government. New Zealanders are seeing it in the cost of living every day. I was down at Countdown on the weekend, where I saw a pound of butter for $6.50, on special; a block of Colby, 18 bucks; 2 litres of milk, over five bucks—five if you’re lucky—and at $18.50, a kilogram mince is no longer a cheap meal. Those are all good prices, by the way—I don’t want to run down Countdown. The fact is that people trying to feed a family find there’s too much week left at the end of the money.

And then, I went down the road to fill my car up with petrol—don’t hate me; I have one that runs on petrol!—and they pre-approve your credit card for $150. Now, the people that designed these petrol pumps must have thought nobody could spend $150 on one tank, so we’ll just zap their card for $150 and take out the difference. Well, the funny thing is, I pressed the buttons and it only filled it up by three-quarters of a tank, and at $3 petrol it’s not surprising. A lot of people—they’re people who actually need to drive to work, sometimes long distances, and take the kids to hockey practice and the doctor and the supermarket on the way home; the tank’s not full and their budget’s met, then that’s a real problem.

Let’s speak about homes. This Government was elected in October 2017, and it was elected, in large part, to try and fix housing. Back then, the median house price was $530,000—that’s the median; that’s not the average, which is higher; that’s not the Auckland price, which is higher; that’s the median for the whole country: $530,000 for a house. That was a lot of money when this Government was elected. Now that median is $880,000—a $350,000 increase that people have been trying to save at a time when the price of everything is going up and up and up.

Everybody is paying for inflation except one organisation—that’s the Government of New Zealand. You see, they’re in on it. They’re getting 15 percent of every price rise in GST. Some people say inflation is a thief in your pocket. Well, this Government is guilty of receiving stolen goods. They just had a $98 billion tax take—that’s last year—$13 billion up on any previous year. You know, I’ll get a billion here, a billion there, and suddenly Grant Robertson’s talking real money. We have a Government that is taking so much more in taxes and spending it, not only are they insulated from the problem, they’re driving the problem. When the Government goes out and spends $2 billion that it’s allowed to borrow—it’s allowed itself to borrow—bidding for land, bidding for builders, bidding for materials when there’s a shortage, they push up the price of housing. When the Government spends $50 million investigating a bike bridge it doesn’t build, they push up the price of everything, because that cash is swirling round but there’s nothing more to buy, and too much money chasing after too few goods—well, that is called inflation and people are feeling it everywhere.

When this Government inherits a Ministry of Education with 2,600 bureaucrats looking after 2,500 schools, that’s an opportunity to reduce the number of bureaucrats in this country. But what have they done? They’ve now got 3,900 bureaucrats, and they’re paid an average of $93,000—more than the top of the scale for an experienced teacher. We have a 50 percent growth in education bureaucrats, and they’re getting paid more than the teachers. And this Government, they stand up and say, “Oh, we can’t cut anything. If the other side, if ACT got in, if National got in, they’d fire all the teachers.” No we wouldn’t. What this Government’s really saying is “We don’t know how to make anything more efficient. We have to tax and spend all this money, otherwise the world will end.” Well, I’m telling you that, on this side of the House, we have alternatives, we have better ideas, we have efficiency, and we are going to make this Government efficient and stop the inflationary pressure that’s pushing up the price of everything for hard-working families that are getting squeezed in every direction. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. It is a peculiar time here in our House. I know I have a lot of colleagues who are coming on through Zoom. We thank you for your cooperation and for your help keeping your colleagues and keeping other people safe by Zooming in.

I said it in the House last week and I say it summarised in the House again this week: Labour is in the fight against COVID-19 because we do not take lives for granted.

💬 David Seymour: It will be for as long as possible.

To the family and friends of the 10 people currently in the intensive care unit (ICU)—perhaps Mr Seymour would like to listen to this, rather than interject. To the family and friends of the 10 people currently in ICU or the high-dependency unit, our thoughts and our prayers are with you and your loved ones as they fight this virus. To the family and friends of the 56 people who have died from this virus—

💬 Simon Court: Including the guy who got shot in New Lynn?

💬 David Seymour: Yeah, was he admitted for COVID?

Point of order, Madam Speaker. I understand that interjections can be varied and in between—

ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): Yeah, thank you very much—thank you. This is a robust debate. I haven’t heard anything that has crossed a line.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. So I summarise again to the family and friends of the 56 people who have died from this virus—

💬 Hon Michael Wood: If that lot want to join the COVID deniers, then head out the front.

💬 Greg O’Connor: Ignore the little twerp.

—our thoughts and prayers are with you.

ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): Order! But it is a little ironic that the member’s own colleagues now start interjecting long and loud. So let’s just calm things down a bit.

Good, robust debate! Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your loved ones as you walked this different chapter of your lives without your loved ones: manuia lau malaga.

We are in a different phase in this response to this virus. We all probably have family and friends who are now infected or are recovering. One of my first family members to be infected by this virus was my six-week-old niece, Pei. Pei’s parents noticed that their new-born child wasn’t breathing properly. They noticed her nose was blocked. She wasn’t feeding. So there is an intuition that parents have: they know when it is time to move. So her parents trusted their gut and they took her to hospital. When she took her to hospital, straight away the doctors and nurses tested her for COVID and she came out positive. But this has a good ending. Pei received exemplary care in Te Puke in Tauranga. She is recovering really well at home with her parents, who also tested positive. Her parents are incredibly grateful to her community in Te Puke, especially the Poutiri Trust, for their help, for checking in on them, and for all the prayers and messages they’ve received from afar. As we experience this outbreak, it is those community groups and welfare providers that will be at the forefront of caring for our community as people self-isolate.

A member today in question time questioned our support for Māori during this pandemic. In my area of Mana, however, I’ve seen the total opposite. Our local iwi, Ngāti Toa, are leading both our vaccination programme, our testing station, our rapid antigen test distribution, and they are also responsible for the community-and-care model, Tiaki.

To our police service—who are currently dealing with a lot of pressure on our front lawn, which we can also smell within this House at this moment—many of those police officers are from my area of Kāpiti-Mana. I’ve been speaking to your area commander regularly throughout this particular protest. I thank you for your service, and together our community will come to thank you once this protest is over.

To our Māori wardens from across the Wellington region: they have provided a safety corridor for our school children, who either have to go up the road, up this hill, to their schools or to the buses which are at the Wellington train station. We thank you for looking after our children.

At this time, I reflect on the words of Tā Hemi Henare: “We have done too much to not do more, we have come too far to not go further.” Now, more than ever, Kiwis need to support our families, our neighbours, and our communities as we get through this outbreak. As the Deputy Prime Minister said earlier today: “Now is the time to care for one another. Now is the time to give a damn.” So, on this side of the House, we do give a damn. On this side of the House, we do care. So, once again, Labour is in the fight against COVID because we do not take lives for granted. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Just before I take the next call, can I just put a reminder to perhaps those members who are wishing to take a call remotely: they do need to seek the call, just as members in this House need to seek a call. Members who are wanting to join the debate remotely can do that by using the message function. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would like to draw to the House’s attention a headline in a local newspaper in mid-Canterbury talking about the harvest from hell. Mid-Canterbury arable farmers have suffered this year the harvest from hell. Yes, some of it has been weather-related. It’s been a cold, wet summer. But I would also contend that the harvest from hell has been exacerbated by the Government from hell. The farming sector of New Zealand has spent the last two years screaming into a wind tunnel, asking this Government to prick up its ears and start listening to it. For two years now, New Zealand’s largest export sector has been screaming out for border exemptions for critical workers like vets, like contractors, like shearers, like viticulturists, like grape pickers, and like dairy support workers. Dairy New Zealand asked this Government for an exemption for 1,500 essential workers to come in. What did it come up with? It allowed for 300 to come in. Tim Mackle put out a statement today, and he’s absolutely right, he said this sort of understaffing “Increases the risk of accidents and … puts animal welfare at risk.” In terms of mental wellbeing, it is a health and safety issue.

The Government response to this sector over the last two years has been utterly pathetic. I have seen the International Organization for Standardization health and safety plans from arable farmers around Canterbury, putting up full health and safety plans that would allow critical workers to safely isolate on farm. Once again, absolutely nothing from the Government. It’s literally tumbleweeds blowing in the wind. I have seen pleas from cropping farmers and contractors for rapid antigen tests so that they can get on with the essential job of feeding this country, of bringing in this year’s crop. Once again, absolutely nothing. This Government is completely and utterly unprepared to listen to anyone from private enterprise, and by goodness, the results are telling! I have a list as long as my arm of examples from New Zealand’s most arrogant and out-of-touch Government and its refusal to listen to industry, and never has there been a more obvious example than the Crown Pastoral Land Reform Bill, a piece of law that is ideologically driven, devoid of any knowledge or practical implementation. But that is typical of this Government and its top-down approach rather than grassroots up.

Once again, I have another example, we are seeing this “we know best” approach with regards to the Animal Welfare Amendment Bill. Everyone will contend that the sinking of the Gulf Livestock 1 was a terrible, terrible maritime disaster. But here we have an industry prepared to respond to it. It is saying to the Primary Production Committee: “Please, can you legislate a gold standard for us? Please allow us to be the world’s best in this export industry.” But will the Government listen? No. I asked the Minister had he read the gold standard, had he considered the gold standard. Answer: no.

I would like, actually, to return, from my list of ignorance from this Government, to the crop. This year’s harvest from hell exacerbated by the Government from hell. Eighty years ago, my great grandmother Mary Grigg, who was the member of Parliament for mid-Canterbury, stood in this Chamber and spoke of the importance of paying farmers a fair price for wheat, given that, at the time, they were obliged to increase production because there was a war. It is not dissimilar to this Government charging the agricultural sector with doubling its export earnings to $80 billion in 10 years, all the while it’s hamstringing them with regulations and restrictions that will actually force them to destock and reduce productivity. But in 1942, Mary Grigg got up and made the following very pertinent statement: “This is a matter that concerns very nearly the electorate [that] I am … proud to represent, and which is so dear to me—mid-Canterbury; but it also affects the whole of New Zealand; … whereas wheat may seem [to be] purely a farmer’s problem, when wheat becomes bread it concerns every man, woman, and child in this Dominion.” And here we are 80 years later, not in the grips of a world war, but in the grips of a global pandemic where the price of food is going through the roof, the productive sector is being forced to fill this Government’s coffers with its export earnings, but, at the same time, it is not being supported by the Government to do that.

I very, very much look forward to the 2023 election. I cannot wait to get out on that campaign trail. I cannot wait to see Simon Bridges in the Minister of Finance’s chair when we will at last start to see some disciplined spending from a Government. And I am very much looking forward to seeing Christopher Luxon as the next Prime Minister of New Zealand.

I’m pleased to speak on this matter, and I’d, first of all, just like to reflect on Minister Twyford’s comments on the Ukraine, because this is a situation which it is very important that we actually acknowledge the distress of the people in that situation before I turn to the domestic situation.

But I do want to talk about Omicron in Auckland, because at the moment we’re suffering from, really, an unprecedented situation for ourselves. We’ve never had a situation where our neighbours have got COVID. We have never had a situation where we have known people in jeopardy. And although this is, hopefully, a milder version, for most people, of COVID that’s because we have had a distance between ourselves and the first iterations of the virus, and because so many people in New Zealand have been vaccinated. We should be incredibly proud of the numbers of vaccinated in this country, because it’s saved over 3,000 lives. And I’d ask people to think about the people they now know who’ve got that virus and think, “What if those people were at the edge in terms of whether they would live or die?”, because that’s what we were really looking at and we aren’t anymore.

We’re in a situation where it’s frightening but there are so many people who have been protected by the measures that this Government has taken, and I’d also ask them to reflect on the kinds of comments that were made at the time, the naysayers in this situation, and those are gathering at the moment. When things are dark, they tend to gather. I’d ask them to remember that Mike Hosking was absolutely adamant we’d never get to those kinds of numbers of vaccination, and yet here we are with one of the highest vaccination rates in the world.

This is a situation which hasn’t happened by accident. It has happened because the Government had a very strong value system, and it’s a very important value system in leading us through such a crisis. We chose things like wage subsidy; we didn’t choose helicopter payments. That’s actually not an accident, and it wouldn’t have necessarily happened under another administration, because the values are fundamentally different. Wage subsidies supported so many people through this. They supported the small businesses and they supported the workers in this country and we have record employment because of it. So we can be incredibly proud of that.

Now, there’s a lot of people who will say that there are issues, etc., and they’ll be right. There will be issues. This is an unprecedented situation and what actually has happened is that this Government has partnered with people and made that happen. So, first of all, I want to talk to and thank some of those people. I want to thank the small businesses that are struggling in Auckland right now. I know it’s incredibly tough for some sectors. It’s very hard when, actually, things are going well in your economy to remember and acknowledge the little areas like—not little, but—hospitality, which are really struggling, areas like retail that are struggling.

I’d like to, also, thank the people who partnered to do this, because a lot of the people who end up with naysayers telling us that they have been a waste of money, the bureaucrats, those bureaucrats aren’t bureaucrats; they are the people who made this happen. They are the people who set up the test and trace system. They are the people who nursed people. They are the people who are at the front line. They are a police force which have been doing so much more than they probably ever anticipated doing. Those people have been working really hard. So it’s really important that when people try and drive a wedge in us and tell us that these things, actually, they could have done them so much better, we’ll remember: who was it who delivered the situation we have now? Who was it who protected people and prioritised people? It’s very easy to talk and it’s much, much harder to make these decisions.

I’m incredibly proud of the decisions that this Government’s made and it will make in the future based on the learnings here as we build back the health sector, as we build back our workforce so that we actually can do the things we need to do in this country to make things work, as we build a climate-responsive environment and one that’s a healthy and good place for our people to live. Thank you.

The debate having concluded, the motion lapsed.