Willis NicolaNICOLA WILLIS (National): This is a bill that increases the level at which the family tax credit comes in because today we are increasing benefits. There's been much discussion on the other side of the House about why we're doing that. Here in the National Party we agree that lower income New Zealanders have been made particularly vulnerable by this Government. We have heard on the other side talk about the dignity and moral choices. Well I want to talk about the moral issue that is the way costs have gone up by this Government. Because you can talk about the difference between different jars of jam but what's actually far more significant is the fact that on average rents have gone up more than $100 a week under this Government. If you want to look at what is driving poverty what is driving problems for lower income New Zealanders housing costs and the extensive growth in them is the actual number one reason why this Government is having to increase benefits.It's not just rents; it's the price of mince. It's the price of potatoes. It's the price of sausages. It's the price of bread of cheese. It is the price of electricity. It is the price of fuel. These are the costs that are going up under a Labour Government. That is why any Government has an obligation to first consider how we are going to grow the real productive economy to ensure there are better jobs they are better paid and people can stay on top of costs.Here on this side of the House we believe that work should pay. We believe there is more dignity in independence and more dignity in the ability to work than there will ever be in someone having to say I want to work but there isn't a job for me." That is why we believe it is incumbent on any Government before it says "I will pay you more for not having a job" to first say "I will ensure we have an economy that can pay you more for the dignity of your work. I will ensure we have an economy that creates jobs. I will ensure we have an economy that creates pathways to independence that creates pathways that allow people to get off a benefit and get into paid work." All of that is absent from this Budget.What this bill does is it makes a small but necessary correction to ensure that there is dignity in work by making sure that work still pays by increasing the family tax credit. So we on this side of the House say well that is necessary in the context of increasing benefits. But we say to the members opposite unless you focus on keeping costs down through fundamental things like housing this is simply running to catch up. It's important that we remember here the callous disregard that members opposite have shown for the impact their policies have on the lowest income New Zealanders. The biggest example we've had of that is the way they have approached housing policy where they said "We want to divide New Zealanders. We want to blame those mums and dads who've saved hard for the nest egg of a rental property. We want to call them 'speculators'. We want to blame them for house price increases so we will remove their interest deductibility. We will increase their costs. We will ignore the advice from the Treasury. We'll ignore the advice from our officials saying 'This is likely to increase rents with the biggest impact being on the lowest-income New Zealanders who are most likely to be detrimentally impacted by rent increases by landlords facing increased costs.' " So they ignored that advice. They are quite happy to rob Peter to pay Paul to pat themselves on the back and say that they're the ones delivering dignity when they're the ones delivering increased costs to our most vulnerable New Zealanders.As we consider this bill and the reality of the need for there to be incentives so that families who are working are better off than families who choose not to work or are unable to get jobs so that we actually have an economy that encourages people into work we must consider the need for the Government to ensure that there are more jobs being created and that people are able to get into skilled employment. That is absent from this bill. It is absent from this Budget. And we on this side of the House say that work must pay. There must be dignity in work and the economy should be grown."