Sepuloni CarmelHon CARMEL SEPULONI (Minister for Social Development and Employment): It is very good to be back here can I say. Three days in this House out of the last 14 weeks living the life in Auckland alongside every other Aucklander. Can I acknowledge everyone in this House that has held down the fort for those of us that haven't been able to be here and undertake the duties that we usually would. On TV just like the rest of New Zealand we have watched our Ministers stand up and front the media and the public every day and I meant to say how much I respect the job that they've done. I'm also acknowledging even for those Ministers like myself who have been away people like Jan Tinetti who have covered and covered so ably. Thank you to all of you and to all of our officials.The one benefit of being in Auckland over the last 14 weeks and engaging with Parliament in question time is that when you're at home you can put it on mute or you can turn it off. Listening to Judith Collins in the House today was one of those moments where I wished I was at home so I could put it on mute. Another time where I felt that way this week was yesterday when I was in the House listening to Chris Bishop Wellisplain" the Aucklanders' experience for the rest of us criticising the Prime Minister saying that she didn't go and visit real Aucklanders when she was in Auckland—him referring to "real Aucklanders" as those that own businesses on Ponsonby Road and live in Takapuna. They are real people and real Aucklanders but I don't think that negates the fact that the West Aucklanders and the South Aucklanders the health provider and the social services the business in Avondale and the Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA) and the Mayor of Auckland also are Aucklanders or there are businesses involved in the EMA that are Auckland businesses. So the criticism from "Wellisplaining" Chris Bishop yesterday was a little bit hard to bear and I really do wish that I could have put him on mute at that time.The reality is that as an Aucklander and as Aucklanders we all had very different experiences of the last 14 weeks. As a Labour Party MP and Minister I saw closely with my ministerial hat the implications and the impacts on social services health services arts organisations artists disabled people and disability organisations. But every day when I'd go out and about on my walk or I might pop into the supermarket or the dairy or I might even talk to friends I'd get a taste and an insight into the other Aucklanders' experiences. So it is important to note that although we are Aucklanders we all had different experiences of the lockdown. One thing I think we share is that it hasn't been easy: 14 weeks without that freedom to move that we are so used to having is tough. The other thing that we share is that we all want to know that we our families and our communities are safe. And at the same time we are all thirsting for some semblance of normality that we have been denied over the last 14 weeks not because of the Government but because of this pandemic that we have had to endure.So I'm relieved—I'm sure alongside a number of Aucklanders—that recent announcements show that we are moving back toward some semblance of normality. I look forward to the fact that tomorrow my eight-year-old can go to school because quite frankly 14 weeks at home with him has not been easy. I look forward to the fact that after 29 November not long after we will be moving towards that traffic-light system. That is a major step forward. And I look forward to the fact like many other Aucklanders that on 15 December we will have the option of being able to reconnect with our whānau and friends that we have been cut off from for 14 weeks. Lots of people have done it hard over this time much harder than me they have lost loved ones they have not been able to be at the bedside of loved ones who have been sick; there has been a lot that has happened for Aucklanders during this time. The message that I want to leave in this House today is that all of New Zealand should be grateful to Aucklanders for what they have done for the rest of New Zealand over the last 14 weeks and I certainly am."