Boyack Rachel; Mallard TrevorRACHEL BOYACK (Labour—Nelson): It's a pleasure to take a call in the general debate today as the member for the real most beautiful electorate in Aotearoa: Nelson. Although I know that my colleague here—Anna Lorck—would like to claim that the Hawke's Bay has beauty that surpasses Nelson. But I know that my colleague across the House Chris Baillie from the ACT Party will support me on this—that Nelson is the centre of Aotearoa as well as being the most beautiful electorate in this country. I'm proud to represent it here. Today I want to talk about being part of a Government that is laying the foundations for our recovery and tackling New Zealand's long-term challenges. Because of the hard work of our team of 5 million over the last 18 months we are now well positioned to recover and rebuild from COVID-19. The Government's books last week show that the New Zealand economy is continuing to display resilience in the face of the ongoing impact of COVID and this Government has introduced a range of measures across Budget 2020 and Budget 2021 to help lay the foundations for our recovery. Jobs for Nature is just one example in my electorate of Nelson of a project that is helping to create jobs support our economic recovery and protect and restore our environment. I want to acknowledge the return of our colleague the Hon Kiritapu Allan and the work she has done on this project. Over 100 new jobs have been created through Jobs for Nature projects across Nelson. They range from projects aimed at maintaining the health of our taonga the Maitai River to supporting the restoration of the Waimea Inlet which is the largest semi-enclosed estuary in the South Island and my personal favourite: supporting the improvement and water quality in the Wakapuaka catchment at Paremata Flats. These projects are not only supporting people and Nelson with jobs but will also pay dividends for future generations by restoring and preserving our environment. This Government is committed to looking after nature and people's livelihoods. It was designed specifically to respond to the impact of COVID-19 and the funding enables iwi businesses and councils working with Government agencies like the Department of Conservation to employ thousands of people across Aotearoa to look after our natural landscapes. I am personally delighted that more New Zealanders are moving into trades. Over 100000 learners have signed up for free vocational training since we introduced the Targeted Training and Apprenticeship Fund in July 2020. We know that as a result of COVID many New Zealanders are looking to retrain and gain new skills and employers in key sectors will need more skilled people. The Nelson Mail reported in May this year that over 1100 students have begun vocational training at the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) under the Targeted Training and Apprenticeship Fund. NMIT have said that they have 4041 domestic students currently enrolled compared to 3299 in March 2020—an increase of 22 percent with demand across all programmes. They've even said that the increase in domestic funding will compensate for the loss of international fees. There's a particular policy that I am extremely proud of which is the reintroduction of the training incentive allowance which came back into effect last week. I was student president at NMIT when the previous National Government cut the training incentive allowance in 2009. That cut took away hope for a number of current and future students. Our office had to support students who were told they weren't eligible when they were. The irony was that the Minister who cut the training incentive allowance used it twice when she was a sole parent and then admitted she was wrong to cut it. On this side of the House we don't rip the ladder up after us. Last week I hosted Minister Sepuloni and Minister Nash in Nelson and it was clear from the number of people we spoke to that the Nelson-Tasman region is in good heart. From the investment into training and jobs in our environment to the outstanding leadership shown by organisations like Wakatu Inc. and the intergenerational strategy and the Nelson Regional Development Agency and Chamber of Commerce's work with councils and iwi to develop our economic blueprint for the region Project Kōkiri through to the world-leading research led by Nelson's Cawthron Institute into algae research we have the ideas and the people ready to make a significant difference to the Nelson-Tasman region. It is an exciting time to be part of a Government that is putting—SPEAKER: Order! The member's time has expired.