Rosewarne DanDAN ROSEWARNE (Labour): Thank you Mr Speaker. I think it's an absolute pleasure to be talking in this general debate. I thought I'd bring the temperature down just a little bit and reflect on who we are as a nation because today marks the 50th anniversary of Norman Kirk's Labour Government's protest against French nuclear testing. And I think it's a good opportunity to look at how our Budget fits in with Labour's commitment for a world-leading nuclear-free policy. On 28 June 1973 Fraser Colman the then immigration Minister left Auckland on Her Majesty's New Zealand Ship Otago headed for Mururoa. This was the first act of our nuclear-free campaign and it was a defining moment in New Zealand's history and has shaped our nuclear-free policy and relationship with the Pacific ever since. It has led us to become pioneers of nuclear-free legislation. It's pushed us to develop our own independent foreign policy and it has made us realise that we are a Pacific nation. It has become part of our identity and I think that we all agree that this is a source of national pride that we New Zealanders are ready to stand up for what is right and punch above our weight. I want to highlight how our recent Budget continues this tradition and embodies the spirit of independent nuclear-free New Zealand. And as I said before when we sent one of our Ministers to protest against the nuclear test he sailed with vessels from across the Pacific and it was a show of solidarity with the other Pacific Island nations and it led to the Treaty of Rarotonga where we worked with our Pacific neighbours to establish the world's first international nuclear-free zone. We showed that we were good neighbours and that we could collaborate to protect a shared vision. This Budget continues that tradition of Pacific cooperation. This Government is investing in building up Pacific resilience with a $14.1 million investment in Pacific community resilience and wellbeing which aims to strengthen the capability and leadership of the Pacific workforce. There are also capital injections of over $16 million planned for 2023 and 2024 as part of our Pacific Reset investment policy and we are also investing $1 million into the Pacific Cooperation Foundation for the promotion of mutual understanding between New Zealanders and other countries and also people within the Pacific. These are just some of the initiatives in this Budget that build on and strengthen our special relationship with our Pacific neighbours. New Zealand's commitment to a nuclear-free policy was also the beginning of the development of our own independent foreign policy a foreign policy that represents our values even if at times that policy is at odds with our neighbours. This Budget also gives us the tools to pursue this foreign policy. It provides $277 million for the delivery of all elements of New Zealand's foreign policy and $87 million on departmental capital expenditure. And this allows us to maintain our embassies and project our presence globally. Part of these expenditures is the refurbishment of our embassy in Moscow. To some this may be a contentious issue but in these uncertain times maintaining diplomatic ties is absolutely essential. If Russian aggression leads to a period of nuclear brinkmanship where multiple sides rush to establish escalation dominance Aotearoa with our strong nuclear-free credentials can be the voice of reason to work with all sides to prevent a nuclear exchange in Europe.This Budget builds on our independent foreign policy. It builds Pacific resilience. It builds on our commitment to the international rules-based order. These are foundations of our nuclear-free culture that is part of our identity an identity that is more relevant now than ever before. And this is something that we are respected for internationally and something that we should be absolutely proud of. In a time when there are forces acting around the world and within our country that aim to divide us it's important that on days like today we reflect on those moments in history that have united us. And 28 June 1973 was one of those days—a day that helped shape us as a nation. So thank you Mr Speaker.