van de Molen TimTIM VAN DE MOLEN (National—Waikato): Thank you Madam Speaker. I think that last member's contribution sums up a lot of what we've heard from the Government in that the intention is good. There's been an unusual challenge that we're facing and they have put forward a response with the intent of providing the best possible outcome. That intent is admirable but the actual delivery unfortunately is falling short and that's where we're seeing a lack of substance in terms of how to actually provide the right solutions and the outcome that business that community that individuals and families need to come through this COVID challenge. This Budget is a gargantuan Budget. This sort of expenditure has never been seen before so understandably New Zealanders are asking where it's going and how is it going to help their particular situation. It's not just about the volume of money—I'm sure Mr Jackson would appreciate it's not about the size; it's how you use it—and on that basis the detail is lacking in this particular instance. There are a number of areas where there's been some good investment and I do want to touch on some of those as I go along this evening but there have been so many missed opportunities. Job creation is going to be a fundamental part of our recovery. The better we can do at creating new jobs and encouraging business to invest and to employ more staff and getting new businesses to start up and other businesses to retain staff—that will be a major contributor to the success of our recovery from COVID. There are a whole range of projects and we've heard about shovel-ready projects. Expressway projects have a massive role to play within that and in the Waikato we've been very fortunate. Under the last Government we had great investment in the Waikato Expressway a massive project connecting Auckland down into the heart of the mighty Waikato and we'd intended to continue that. Unfortunately this Government has cancelled it. Now that extension down to Piarere it's ready to go: a $560 million - odd investment four-laning it down there massive safety improvements and massive economic potential for that area as well. It's a no-brainer and yet this Government refuses to pick up that project and get on with what that region needs. Instead they got a $50 million roundabout out of the $8 billion - odd that was put forward for infrastructure investment earlier in the year. That's simply not good enough. That is a major piece of work that is critical to helping improve that connectivity in the golden triangle": Auckland Hamilton and the Bay of Plenty. Not just there but the next step as well from Piarere across to the Kaimai Range and then the stretch going through the Kaimai Range—let's look at a tunnel. We're spending massive amounts of money here. We need to be being bold with some of these visions but actually having clear plans around how to invest that money to create jobs for the benefit of New Zealanders. It's not just in the Waikato of course. My colleague Matt King is very passionate about a four-lane expressway up North; my colleague Andrew Falloon likewise down in Rangitata from Ashburton to Christchurch. These are important projects that have been cancelled by this Government but that actually provide massive job opportunities within those regions. The Labour members can jump up and down and say that it's not important or it's not what is needed but actually it's about job creation—job creation safety and economic opportunity—and that's what these roads will deliver. So I would absolutely implore the Government to spend some of the additional $20 billion - odd that they have sitting aside in a slush fund and allocate it to some of these projects. We heard from Priyanca Radhakrishnan the previous speaker about "This Budget was very targeted very planned." Well I'm sorry but putting $20 billion in a slush fund suggests otherwise so my suggestion is to utilise some of that on these roading projects. That would go a nice way to helping out. Moving on from the roading to connectivity in general—and I'm talking here about ultra-fast broadband initiatives—I did see that the Government announced earlier they were looking to expand that. In rural areas that is absolutely vital and when we look at the lockdown that we've just been through the requirement to have good connectivity was integral to businesses' ability to function well. So I would absolutely again ask the Government to look more seriously at investing that. Pushing out the fibre further outside our city limits to some of those smaller rural towns but actually getting the broadband out as well into the more remote areas—that's going to be a key opportunity to grow productivity as well. These are some of the measures we need and whilst it's important that we have wage subsidies in place to support those who are out of work we also need to be looking very much at creating new jobs and encouraging investment. It's not just about support. It's actually about enabling and empowering businesses to get on and do what they do best because businesses are going to underpin our economic recovery here. The Government has a role to play in that but businesses are the ones who employ the individuals who give them the job and who take a punt on someone who might not have the right skills if they have the framework that enables them to get on and produce what they need to improve their productivity and contribute to our economic recovery. The building and construction sector is another one I want to touch on and I'm very privileged to have recently picked up that portfolio on behalf of the National Party. Again there is huge potential in this space. The job creation that can happen there is massive. There's 250000-odd employees currently in the industry who are playing a critical role now as we look towards the recovery in terms of construction in particular and in getting that sector up and running. Again the ability for them to deliver then enables other businesses to get on and produce and to add economic stimulus as well. So that's where we really need to be looking more at streamlining the processes overhauling the building code and looking at where the liability sits within the industry because there is far too much cost at the moment. That ends up coming on the end consumer but actually the processes along the way are very slow and clunky and need to be reviewed. So it's encouraging to see that Minister Jenny Salesa just last week brought forward a bill around modular components and other matters. I commend her for that and also for some of the recent changes around the small 30-square-metre sheds and the like that can be built. Those are good things but actually we need to make sure that we're bringing that in promptly because there are businesses now who are missing out on sales as a result of people saying "Well if that rule's coming in I don't need a consent. I'll just hold off until it happens." and these are businesses that have had zero revenue through the lockdown who have now desperately been looking to sell sheds and the like who are suddenly having that taken away from them because of an announcement with unintended consequences. So I hope to see that one delivered sooner rather than later. Also in terms of rural New Zealand this is a key part and for me in the Waikato the mighty Waikato heartland of dairy country—that has played a huge role through this economic challenge that we're seeing from COVID. Dairy farming or farming in particular was an essential service and rightly so. They were able to continue providing the hard work that they do in putting the food on our plates and producing the fibres and the like to get us trucking along as best as possible. The primary sector has underpinned our economy for many years and I believe it will continue to do so. We need to make sure that we are giving them the right platform to grow and to be a bigger contributor to our recovery and sadly this Budget hasn't delivered enough in the investment innovation and research space to provide new opportunities for our primary sectors to evolve and to adapt the way that they operate so that they can be more efficient so that they can have a lesser impact on the environment and so that they can produce more for less. These are all aspects that will contribute to our economic growth. It is encouraging to see the Government just last week soften their stance on some of the freshwater proposals they had put out. Unfortunately it's not nearly as far as we would like to have seen them go. I just want to reiterate here that farmers care about the environment and that's a common misconception we hear from the other side of the House. No farmer wants to be out there polluting their environment. They rely on having a top-quality environment to be able to produce as well as possible so that is a total misconception to suggest otherwise. But bringing in additional impositions on farming in a time like this is just not appropriate. They need to be given a platform—the best possible platform—to improve their productivity and help our recovery. Now local tourism is a nice part that I want to finish on today and when we're looking at our recovery again international tourism is not on the cards for some time. Domestically we need to encourage more and in the Waikato we have huge opportunity there. Conservation is a big part of that and I'm really passionate about getting out in the environment. We have a lot of walks around our region. I'm hoping to see people utilising that more and down the track potentially a great walk in the Waikato region would be something fantastic. But there is so much on offer there and I really would encourage people to take up that opportunity to explore their backyard as well. Thank you. ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Ruth Dyson): The next call is a split call."