SpeechBRETT HUDSON (National): Thank you Madam Speaker. Well this Government's playing fast and loose—playing fast and loose—with the economy. We're growing now at just a fraction over 2 percent. In the first quarter of this year there was negative job growth—negative job growth. Their mates in the Council of Trade Unions are saying that inflation is rising faster than wages. People are worse off because this Government's playing fast and loose and meanwhile they're undoing the great work the nine years of achievement of the previous National Government where the economy was growing at around 4 percent where a net new 10000 jobs were being created every month and where consistently wages were growing at twice the rate of inflation. They've undone all that good work. By playing fast and loose not only are they failing to deliver their promise of building a vibrant economy but they've undone all that good work in less than two years—less than two years. That's a record in itself.They're playing fast and loose in expenditure as well. They've got a $3 billion slush fund for Shane Jones to dispense around the country $2.8 billion committed to fees-free to get fewer students than we had before them and as a result of that health boards are in record deficits. Teachers and other public services have been on strike because fast and loose with expenditure they've not been able to get their priorities right and the Public Service is going backwards. They're undoing the good work the nine years of achievement under National with our Better Public Services targets which saw our health services delivering quality services where New Zealanders didn't have to go to Australia for cancer treatment where they were getting the drugs they needed and where our public servants didn't feel they needed to go on strike for better working conditions. They've undone that good work as well.Well now they want to play fast and loose on public safety—fast and loose on public safety. They've got a little coalition agreement for hundreds if not thousands of cowboy cops—cowboy cops—roaming around the countryside pretending like they're real police officers putting public safety at risk and putting their own safety at risk. Their advisers the police force are telling this Government—in fact they told them a long time ago—that if they went ahead with the cowboy cops they'd put the public safety at risk they'd put the safety of those volunteers at risk and they would be doing policing on the cheap. How do we know that the police said that? Well because finally the document has been released—the document of police telling the Minister of Police precisely that.In the release of that document they've shown how the Government's played fast and loose on openness and transparency. The Prime Minister in the Speech from the Throne said this was going to be the most open and transparent Government New Zealand has ever seen. When did the Minister of Police receive the advice from police that cowboy cops would be a bad idea—when? In February—February 2018. In February 2018 the police gave a briefing to the Minister that the cowboy cops was a supremely bad idea and he's held on to it for 16 months—kept it a secret for 16 months. Even Ron Mark didn't know until yesterday that the police force had told the Minister that it was an extremely bad idea. Sixteen months—that is what openness and transparency looks like to this Government. Well they failed to deliver on that promise as well.Meanwhile what the advice does say—what the advice does say—is not only does it put public safety at risk not only does it cheapen policing in New Zealand but it would detract focus from the promised but not yet delivered 1800 new police. Well where are they with that? Well that's worth keeping an eye on. They promised 1800 new police in three years. We're halfway through the term and they've only delivered one-third of that number. We not only promised but funded 1125 new police staff in Budget 2017 and 880 of those were front-line officers. They haven't even delivered the 880. That's how far behind they are. They simply can't deliver on the promises they make. They are a weak and ineffective Government but next year is an opportunity to change all that.