Willis NicolaADDRESS IN REPLYDebate resumed from 7 December.Hon NICOLA WILLIS (Minister of Finance): It's clear from the question time today that members opposite are adjusting to their new situation. They're feeling a little uncomfortable about their new situation and I think that New Zealanders around the country would welcome me reminding members opposite why they lost and why they no longer control the Government benches. That's because over their six long years they managed to preside over an economy that worsened and made the outcomes for New Zealanders worse.We have had inflation out of control for more than 2½ years and the result for working people for New Zealanders across the country has been a cost of living crisis that rolled on and on and on. In the face of that cost of living crisis we then had a Government who instead of doing the right thing and looking at what it could do to control that inflation to reduce that inflation instead decided to spend New Zealanders' money with wild abandon. It increased spending by dramatic amounts even while inflation roared on and it spent that money on wasteful things; on projects that New Zealanders would not have prioritised but which were political projects and ideological projects for the members opposite.What that party opposite refused to do at any juncture was reduce the income taxes that New Zealanders were paying. Even while inflation pushed people into higher tax brackets—even while inflation stripped people's bank accounts bare—the members opposite continued to say there is never a right time for tax reduction. Well the members on this side of the House know because we spent time with the working people who voted for change at this election that New Zealanders want to be able to have a Government they can trust to be good stewards not only of taxpayers' money but of the economy in which we all play a part.So in the address from this throne we heard the commitments of our Government and they are going to be to reduce the cost of living and deliver income tax reduction. And what we've heard over these past two weeks is every reason under the sun why we shouldn't offer tax reduction. What I've put to you is that there are some members of this House some politicians who believe that they can always spend New Zealanders' money better than they can. I am proud to be part of a Government that knows that New Zealanders who this week are worrying whether or not they can afford to pay for swimming lessons for their kids this summer New Zealanders who are worrying about how they're going to pay off the credit card in time to put food on the table for Christmas New Zealanders who are worried that the mortgage payments are now so high that they may need to consider selling their house—I want all of those New Zealanders to know that they now have a Government who understands you can't just ignore the economy and spend and spend and spend. Actually you have to deliver.So we—we—will make sure we bring Government spending under control and will prioritise the things that actually matter to working people: effective public services that are sustainable into the future and that provide good value; delivering the conditions and the infrastructure that allow private enterprise to flourish that allow for greater innovation that allow for greater productivity that allow for more people to be hired. And we are at work. Already we have introduced 90-day trial legislation which will mean that some people will have an employer give them a go where previously they were not prepared to. Already we have removed the bureaucratic fair pay agreement regime which would have imposed mandatory union deals on workforces that didn't even want a bar of it.I am at work. And I tell you it is a solemn thing when you get given the Government books as the Minister of Finance and when you turn those pages and you find that actually we had a Government that committed to all sorts of things—whether it was new Pharmac medicines whether it was school lunches—but didn't actually remember to put the money in the Budget to pay for those things into the future and who did that on such a grand scale—so many billions of dollars of commitments that weren't funded into the future—that what I see in those books is a Government that was prepared to recklessly leave a hole in the Government finances.So the task ahead for our Government is not just the task that we campaigned on which was to ensure we addressed the cost of living and took pressure off inflation and reduced the taxes that people pay. Our task is also to restore a sense of fiscal responsibility to Government. That means that we need to get rid of these bad habits that crept in by the big spenders on the other side. We will be needing to make changes to ensure that when any Minister on these benches appropriates money that belongs to New Zealanders they ensure that it is spent in a way that is responsible—and that when members opposite present policies or accounts they can look people in the eye and say we are making this announcement today confident we can fund it into the future. Because it seems disgraceful to me that we had a Government that was prepared to sign up to long-term contracts for medicines but wouldn't put the money in the Budget to fund them. And yet they crowed—they crowed about a supposed return to surplus in 2026–27. Well smoke and mirrors. Because actually what they were playing was one big game of duck-shoving in which in fact their surplus was never going to return on their watch. They were prepared to keep doing what they had already done three times—move that surplus out—because fundamentally they like to spend more than they earn.So we will be restoring the discipline that is needed to give New Zealanders confidence—confidence actually that the things we fund can be afforded not just for the members of this House today but for the kids and grandkids who follow us. Because it is a reckless Government that drives the books into ongoing deficits and that was the intention of the members opposite.I tell you what it's been a solemn experience and members here will have had the same experience when you take that warrant as a Minister and you reflect on the responsibility that comes with it. When I think about that responsibility I want to tell you about the people I have in my mind. I have in my mind the family whose door I knocked on in Johnsonville during the campaign. Parked out the front was a Wellington Combined taxi. As I came to the front door the mum spent a bit of time coming to the door. She had two children at her feet. She said her husband was at prayer and she was going to bring him to the door because he really needed to speak to me. He came to the door and he said Nicola I just want to know why the Government makes it so hard for people like me. I work my taxi shift and I work a cleaning shift and my wife works at McDonald's. We work every hour that we can and we do everything to care for our children. But the rent keeps going up the food keeps going up and they take my taxes and they spend it on things I do not want." And I said to that man "You need a change of Government because it is time that you had a Government that will let you keep more of those earnings you work so hard for. It is time that you had a Government that won't play games with things like inflation that will make sure the Reserve Bank does its job and gets it under control. It is time for a Government that treats your money with respect and doesn't just give speeches about nice things but delivers results that sets targets that has high expectations of public servants that expects performance that drives performance that gets results for you."So when I go to work each day I'm not actually thinking about which piece of spin or which piece of lovely rhetoric the previous Government gave in a speech whether it was the 100000 KiwiBuild houses or the nuclear-free moments. I'm thinking about what it's going to look like for that family in 2026. On this Government's watch we will get the cost of living under control they will have more money in their bank accounts and we'll have public services that deliver good value effectively. And here's what's more: we will have the books in better order so that all of those things can be sustained into the future. It is time for responsible Government for grown-up Government. The adults are back in charge and New Zealanders say to the last lot: good riddance."