Williams ArenaARENA WILLIAMS (Labour—Manurewa): Thank you Mr Speaker. The general debate is a great part of Parliament's week and is a chance for members to speak on whatever topic they choose to speak on and about the vision that they have for New Zealand. We have heard speech after speech from Government members about the shopping list of policies that they have introduced under urgency that show no vision for New Zealand. This is a Government with a grab bag and a mishmash of random ideas which have been promoted by lobbyists and vested interests on the campaign and do not reflect the kind of Aotearoa New Zealand that we could have now and could have for the future of our children. It's disappointing because you know the general debate is a fun time in the week and I will speak soon about a parliamentarian with a true vision for Aotearoa. But you know it is also a time for Government members to make that kind of contribution that we all hope to make as parliamentarians both in this House and in select committee. And this is the first week that select committees have sort of been able to begin scrutinising bills get out of the rush of urgency and get down to the work of being parliamentarians who represent the communities that we are from and making things better for the lives of those people that we represent. Someone who has always done that someone who has been a leading light in this Parliament for that is Grant Robertson. He has always had a vision for change. He's always been determined to design the kind of economy that delivers for people and for social and environmental wellbeing not just for this generation but for future generations to come. And that is who I will speak about in the next three minutes.Through his career he's worked on some of the most revolutionary policy that Labour Governments have introduced. First in the Clark Government his work on KiwiSaver and student loans moved the country forward in the type of support that people could expect from the Government and the type of social elevator that we would create to lift people out of poverty and into successful lives. The Future of Work that he led in his Opposition years was also something that changed the national conversation about what we could expect for people's incomes the kind of work that they would do. And that was as a member like the other members on this side of the House who weren't backed by ministries; they weren't backed by public servants. This was a vision that he had and he brought people along with him. And I'll return to that theme because it is one that marks Grant's career as pretty special.The Wellbeing Budget in 2019 was also a huge achievement with five key areas being targeted to mental health and child wellbeing and other policies that had not had the kind of elevation in the Budget process that they should have before he took that lens to the budgeting process. Particularly proud to see my colleague's focus on targeted health for Māori funding which parliamentarians had known for a long time was inequitable but only through that budgeting process could it be addressed in the way that it was through things like the Māori Health Authority. But also special funding that carved out a special place for Te Matatini; that is something that creates a sense of national identity that we can all be proud of and would not have had a look-in had we not been bringing that kind of focus to the Budget.Things like keeping unemployment below 4 percent for nine consecutive quarters is the kind of legacy that as a finance Minister one can be proud of. That keeps people in work it keeps people with hope in our communities and it makes a real difference when I look around at how Manurewa and South Auckland look as its local MP now. Supporting businesses through COVID is also something that he can be proud of. There are businesses operating right now in our communities who employ local people who would not otherwise be operating without the kind of decisive action that the finance Minister had to take within 24- and 48-hour periods within that COVID time. The 2021 welfare package undid the damage that the mother of all Budgets" did in 1991 by restoring welfare to the level it was then in real terms. That is something that has changed the way that beneficiaries are supported in New Zealand and will be meaningful for decades. He also shifted the discussion on debt and investment in New Zealand and committed record levels to infrastructure and investment which will make a difference for many many generations to come.His whole philosophy is lifting people up. He said as the former Prime Minister Norman Kirk used to say that New Zealanders wanted a job a place to live and someone to love and something to hope for and he set about designing the sort of economy that would create that for everyone. But it wasn't just a philosophy; he lifted the people up around him too. Those were the volunteers in his campaigns the staffers in his office the people working in the Public Service the NGOs and the international organisations and the MPs on this side of the House who owe our careers to him—like me one of his many teenage volunteers who has supported him right through his career. I am proud of his contribution and I look forward to his valedictory statements today."