Robertson GrantHon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): Oh very good—thank you Mr Speaker. I think it's instructive that in a debate about the 40 years ahead for the New Zealand economy and New Zealand society the Opposition finance spokesperson couldn't utter the words climate change"—could not utter the words "climate change"—didn't devote anything in her speech to the biggest challenge facing the New Zealand economy for 40 years ahead. And there's a reason for that; it's because the National Party doesn't have a plan around climate change. They are completely out of touch with the biggest issue that will face New Zealanders across the next 40 years. And that was really brought into sharp focus over the last 24 hours when the Leader of the Opposition decided to tell New Zealanders that public transport needed to look after itself—it needed to be able to make sure it paid its own way somewhat undermined by the fact that each year the Government puts aside more than $2 billion—probably more than $2.5 billion—a year to actually support public transport.All around the world public transport systems are supported and subsidised by Governments and local government because of the value that they provide. They provide that value for low and middle income people especially but nowadays we also recognise the value that that has for addressing climate change issues. Mode shift as the Leader of the Opposition has picked up is an important matter. It would seem he thinks mode shift is moving from corporate cabs to black Mercedes and then back again. On this side of the House we know that mode shift is actually about making sure that New Zealanders have the ability to make good transport choices and that they have good public transport options in front of them. So for the long-term fiscal statement debate it is worth putting on the record that in that report the Treasury highlighted the importance of climate change. The Treasury highlighted the importance of different policy approaches to make sure that New Zealanders are prepared to make sure that we reach our zero carbon targets. And the issue we have is that I heard the Leader of the Opposition this morning say "No no no—totally committed; totally committed to the 2050 targets." That commitment's hollow. It means nothing if there is no policy prescription to back that up. And I am extremely proud of the work of this Labour Government to develop the emissions reduction plan that will mean we can reach that zero carbon goal. It means that we will make sure that our transport fleet is cleaner. It will make sure that the way we eat our industries in New Zealand is cleaner. It will make sure that the way our homes are designed in the future means that they are more energy efficient. I want to thank the cooperation of James Shaw and the Green Party on the work in the emissions reduction plan. And when we announce the Budget in May we have the first steps with the Climate Emergency Response Fund taking all of that money from the emissions trading scheme and putting it into emissions reduction initiatives starting to take the steps that are asked for in this report to truly address one of the biggest issues that New Zealand will face over the next 40 years. But yet the Opposition's finance spokesperson decided it wasn't important enough to talk about in her speech today. That shows just how out of touch the National Party is.There are two or three other areas—it's as much as I can fit in in this contribution—in this report that I think are worthy of note. The first of those is around COVID-19 because the Treasury did take the time to address the impact of COVID-19 on New Zealand's long-term fiscal position. I think it is worth noting that they said—the report of the committee tells us—that the financial implications of the Government's response to COVID-19 are largely temporary and will not affect the Government's financial position long term. That is a very important thing to note because the significance of what we did day to day for New Zealanders should not be understated. We worked alongside New Zealanders to make sure that unemployment didn't get out of control and that we have 3.2 percent unemployment and we were able to do that on the basis of a strong fiscal position. I acknowledge what the Opposition finance spokesperson said about that. She did actually leave out just a little bit at the end which was that we the Labour Government brought net debt down to 19.5 percent of GDP. That left us in a strong position to respond. But there is no point in saving for the rainy day if when it comes along you don't use the savings that have been put in place. I stand by those decisions that we made that allowed New Zealanders to come through COVID-19 not only with one of the best health responses in the world but also with what has been recognised by the likes of Standard & Poor's and the IMF and others as one of the strongest economic responses as well all done in such a way that the long-term fiscal position of New Zealand will not be undermined. Today the Reserve Bank when they put forward their monetary policy statement made the point that the underlying fundamentals of the New Zealand economy are strong and that is actually what this financial statement says. Yes there are challenges. Yes there are areas that we need to step up to and make big decisions about. But the underlying fundamentals are strong and day in day out in this House I hear the Opposition telling us that there is in New Zealand a cost of living crisis. We accept that for many New Zealanders that's true but to then take from that that somehow the New Zealand economy is going to hell in a handbasket actually undermines the hard work of New Zealand businesses and workers who have got us to the point that we are today and that is clear in this particular report. It also notes the importance of the targeted support that has been provided through COVID-19 and will be provided out into the future. There is no doubt that the kind of economic shock we've seen in COVID-19 will affect different parts of our community differently and that's why we've continued to provide greater support for example to Māori and Pacific communities to make sure that we've looked after those on low incomes as well. And that's why when we did the 1 April package our focus was there because as we bring New Zealanders through these tough times some sectors have benefited enormously through COVID-19. Our export sector has been strong and we've been able to build off that. But we also have to look after those in our society and in our economy who haven't done so well and targeted support is important. Untargeted support tax cuts that are targeted at people who earn more than $180000 is simply an out of touch policy that shows that the National Party do not understand not only today's economy but where the economy should be in the future. The other area I do want to talk about and it's highlighted in the report is the importance of what we do with health expenditure because a lot of the focus we often have in this debate—and the Treasury has been consistent about this when they've been writing these reports over the years—is around the cost of superannuation and they do indicate that that would rise from about 5 percent of GDP where it is now to about 7.7 percent of GDP by the end of the period that they cover in this report. That is an increase. It is a significant increase. I want to put on the record that for the Labour Party we continue to believe that dignity in retirement is worth it and that we will keep investing in that. But the bit that doesn't get talked about as much is what happens in health spending because with an aging population there is no doubt that health spending will need to increase. Yes we can be more effective. Yes we can be more efficient—new technologies come along. They help us; we must do that. But ultimately a Government must invest in its health system. But over and over again I hear from the National Party's health spokesperson that the reforms that we're making to make the health system more effective to make the health system more efficient to make it more equitable are the wrong thing to do. So once again there's an out-of-touch response from the National Party whereas the Labour Government is making sure we make the changes to our health system that mean we can meet the challenges that are outlined in this report. And that means yes the creation of the Māori Health Authority because we need to acknowledge that what we have done to this point has not worked for Māori. The health outcomes for Māori are disproportionately poor compared to the rest of the population. So the answer is not to do exactly the same thing as the National Party would propose but rather change it—make sure that we provide more by Māori for Māori services make sure we have a greater focus on those health outcomes and improve them. I know that those on the other side of the House don't like to admit that actually sometimes things do need to change. Sometimes things do need to improve and in the health sector that is certainly where we are focused. So I thank the Treasury for this report. It is once again a useful contribution to New Zealand's economic debate. It does show to us that as a country we are well-positioned but facing challenging times that we do need to make big calls and difficult calls that we do need to get on top of things like our infrastructure deficit the spending that we do in the health sector the way in which we support low and middle income families. Those things take time and they take serious investment but they also take a plan that is in touch with the future needs of New Zealanders. When we come to do the Budget in a little over a month's time I am sure that New Zealanders will see that the Labour Government has its focus not just on the short term in supporting people but also on the long term and making sure that we make the decisions and we have the policies that give New Zealanders prosperity but also show that we continue to care for one another."