Dean JacquiHon JACQUI DEAN (National—Waitaki): The Minister who just resumed his seat Hon Aupito William Sio gave some pretty glowing words around the Labour Government's Budget with regards to the next generation with care for young people and the generations that are to come in New Zealand but I don't see that reflected in this Budget for midwifery and maternity services. I just don't see it. In the lower half of the South Island in rural New Zealand—which is a long way away from the city dwellers who inhabit the other side of the House—in those rural places we are sorely missing support for midwives and not just the midwives the support for the mothers and their babies; that very same next generation that the member who has just resumed his seat was so very concerned about.Now we have the situation in the lower half of the South Island in the Southern District Health Board area—which by the way is where Hon David Clark Minister of Health resides lives holidays and has his family. It's within that context that he is literally turning a blind eye in practice and in this Budget to the needs of the mums and the needs of the babies.Marja Lubeck: What rubbish.Hon JACQUI DEAN: What rubbish? See now I just quote the member from over the other side of the House a city-dwelling union representative now Labour list MP. [Interruption] She just said in response to my comments around midwife services and support for mums and their babies Rubbish." [Interruption]ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Poto Williams): Order! Settle.Hon JACQUI DEAN: Well here are the facts about those mums and young babies: in Lumsden their maternity hub has been closed by their Minister of Health to the extent that a young mum had her baby not in a safe environment but on the side of the road in an ambulance—not because she wanted to but because she was some way away from the base hospital in Dunedin. Labour is a very unpredictable thing sometimes and the baby arrived in an ambulance. If that doesn't talk of neglect by this current Government and this Minister of Health I don't know what does.But it gets worse than that because in the Upper Clutha which is another area of the South Island which is even more remote from good health services there is no maternity hub. There's strong population growth but there is no maternity hub. In fact there are very few midwives because they feel so unsupported by this Government by this Minister of Health and I'm not seeing any changes in this document this so-called Wellbeing Budget. I'm not seeing any support in here.Sitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.Hon JACQUI DEAN: Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker. I come fresh from the dinner break and watching One News and the 7 o'clock programme. It was interesting. On that there was a very brave woman Kristi James who is a young woman who lives in Hawea Flat and formed a group calling for more midwifery support for the Upper Clutha a couple of years ago now. I had quite a bit to do with Kristi and her colleagues and their toddlers who are always very entertaining at a meeting. All Kristi wanted for the Upper Clutha mums—that is for Hawea Flat and for Wanaka and the Upper Clutha—was decent midwifery services. That's all she wanted. She didn't want anything gold-plated; she just wanted somewhere where she knew she could safely have her baby.Now Kristi was on the news tonight and I want to congratulate her and her partner and their beautiful little boy Makail for his safe delivery but it was only just safe because as so often happens with labour this one didn't quite go according to plan. So while Kristi and her partner were meeting with their midwife—one of the very few midwives who are still working in the Upper Clutha because they are so under pressure—it was discovered that in fact yes Kristi was ready right then right now to have her baby. Having had previously a Caesarean this wasn't a great prospect for a young mum facing right then right now the prospect of having a baby. Whereabouts? In her midwife's office. We can only give thanks that that little baby was very safely born and by the look of him he's just a bundle of joy and I'm sure everybody would agree with that. But where was the wellbeing for that family? Where was the wellbeing not only in this so-called Wellbeing Budget of this year but Labour is failing to deliver on their promises to the young women of the Upper Clutha. Of course it's not just the Upper Clutha. I know that I have a number of colleagues who wish to speak on this aspect of the Budget where rural New Zealand—and in this case the mums and the dads and the babies—have been let down. Where was the funding for them? Of course the health Minister David Clark lives in that area. He holidays in that area. David Clark the health Minister made big promises in Opposition. I remember it very very well. I remember back in 2017 on the campaign trail David Clark the then Opposition health spokesperson railed against the so-called underfunding of health services by our Government. He railed. He got his other candidates to stand up and rail against what they called the underfunding and yet two Budgets later we have not seen the money promised by that health Minister.So I want his colleagues to stand up in the House this evening and in the latter parts of this Budget debate and explain to me and explain to my colleagues particularly those of us in rural areas and more than that to explain to the dads and to the mums and to the babies why they have not supported the most vulnerable in our society by supporting maternity services and the midwives. So that's my challenge to this Government—this wellbeing transformational Government who have failed to deliver on their promise to the mums and dads of New Zealand.I invite them when they leave this House—and David Parker is sitting across the House; David Parker was the MP for Otago—Marja Lubeck: Honourable remember?Hon JACQUI DEAN: —the Hon David Parker—between the years of 2002 and 2005. What did that member do for the mums of the Upper Clutha who were in his electorate at the time? And what is he doing now? I invite the Hon David Parker to get to his feet and tell this House what he is doing for the mums for the dads and for the babies of the Upper Clutha because of course this goes a whole lot wider than just the mums and dads. This goes to many many parts of rural South Island. It is not good enough. And when the Hon David Parker is finished I'd like to hear from the Minister of Health. I'd like David Clark to get up and explain to this House why after two Budgets—two Budgets one of which is the Wellbeing Budget or maybe the well-intentioned Budget—Labour is failing to deliver on its promises for health for the young people the next generation and their mums and their dads so that mums like Kristi James who faced either a 3½ hour trip to Dunedin Hospital or having it on the floor of her midwife's office actually had no choice. Is that wellbeing? Is that something that this Government is proud of? Is that what "being kind" means? If that's wellbeing well I can tell that Government that it is not working for rural people in New Zealand. I just know that colleagues on this side of the House will also give their perspective on how this Government is failing the very vulnerable people in New Zealand. Oh they are talking the talk. They are very good at talking up this very special Wellbeing Budget. Well here's the thing: talk is cheap but delivering on that talk is what we really need in rural New Zealand. And for two Budgets—two Budgets—they have absolutely failed in that endeavour."