O'Connor SimonSIMON O'CONNOR (National—Tāmaki): I am not sure about viewers at home but I am a little bit confused by that last presentation by the member who has just taken his seat Chris Hipkins. That was meant to be from a party that is relentlessly positive and I was sitting there optimistically looking for something positive not only relentless. Look it is a very confusing time actually to be in this House. We have a Labour Party that has changed its faces if you will but not the substance of its arguments and a Green Party which is meant to be about aroha love and many other things ripping itself apart. I mention that because in contrast we can maintain a stable strong Government here which is incredibly proud of the Budget that it has put forward. It is a Budget that recognises where New Zealand has been where New Zealand is and where it is going. Why I bring those three up is that we know that New Zealand has been through a very difficult time over recent years through the great financial crisis to the Canterbury earthquakes—Carmel Sepuloni: Through 9 years of a National Government—that's what's been difficult about recent years. SIMON O'CONNOR: —and the like. We have worked through that and also—as has been helpfully pointed out—9 years of a Labour Government which left us in quite a bind. So we have fixed things up over the course of these 9 years with importantly the support of New Zealanders. Obviously as a Government there is much that we can do—but it is actually working alongside New Zealanders from those who run the large to the small businesses to those who work in the various sectors be it education or health. Right across all of those sectors we have worked together as a nation to restore the Government's books to an excellent position and we are in such a position that the Government in this Budget has been able to announce an array of new services new funding and new support. With regard to the previous speaker look education is not my forte—my wife who is a teacher will tell you that—but actually we have just heard this relentlessly negative presentation by the Labour spokesperson on education around well education and supposedly this woeful funding. Well right in front of me in fact is the Minister of Education and sitting down the back of the Chamber is a former Minister of Education. If they were speaking here today they would tell you of the enormous amount of good work and effort that is going into the education system through obviously their leadership and that of their associates but actually by the teachers the principals the teacher-aides and others on the ground. The enormous amount of funding that is going into new classrooms and in fact fixing up classrooms as well—those classrooms that the Labour Party talks about at length which it neglected year after year. It has been this Government and these Ministers who are now making the efforts. Speaking of my own electorate in Tāmaki it has only been in recent days that even more classrooms were announced. I should probably rephrase that in some way because just about every year that I have been in Parliament in Budget after Budget new classrooms have been introduced. In the recent array of Budget announcements three of my schools have more classrooms. Stonefields School one of the most amazing modern learning environments—in fact I encourage anyone in the House to go and visit—has new classrooms. St Thomas's School a really excellent school in Kohimārama developing for an ever-growing roll has more classrooms. The most wonderful school in Meadowbank—in fact it is hard to explain verbally I would have to say but imagine effectively an intermediate school and a primary school that straddle a valley. It is the most bucolic area if you will in the middle of a city. It is well worth a visit. It has been given new funding for education and new funding for classrooms. So I find it very difficult to reconcile as a constituent MP these suggestions that there are no moneys. I look to the innovations around the partnership schools. What a marvellous addition to education there. I think of the likes of the Villa Education Trust. It is an amazing amazing result that this trust is developing not for the sake of the school itself but for the students. I am really looking forward to this campaign to hear the deputy leader and the leader of the Labour Party argue this out because of course they have conflicting points of view on this. I will be interested in what the wider Māori caucus has to say on this but I will not put a certain member on the spot here. That will be a fascinating tension but I for one see real value in having these partnership schools. In fact I see it as part of diversity really—which is a word that gets bandied about a lot in this House usually by those who do not really believe in it—and actually in the education system why not have some diversity? We have integrated schools we have special schools we have private schools and we have State schools and we heard—I was sitting on the Education and Science Committee at the time—particularly from the Māori and Pasifika communities that they want this. They want this and I am very proud to see that we continue as a Government to support those. Look as most people know my particular interest at the moment—primarily through chairing the Health Committee—is health. There is a record $16.8 billion being spent—the highest health spend ever. I keep reiterating that in this House because there is mischief being made by minor parties like the Labour Party that the spending has actually been cut. You cannot increase spending by I think it is about $3.9 billion—you will have to correct me on the figures; I am talking off the cuff—which is an enormous increase and then say it is a decrease. I have said many many times that when Labour comes out and says there is $1.7 billion missing or $2.5 billion missing that is not an actual fact. That is purely what it believes should be spent. It is a utopian view and I continue to be surprised that those members limit themselves to only a $1.7 billion underspend. This Government is incredibly proud of its record in health. Anyone who works in the health sector knows that health always is and always will be challenging and one of the areas that often comes up is around mental health. I think what the Government is doing in that space is actually quite incredible and quite comprehensive. Really importantly in this Budget there is around about $224 million set aside for mental health. It is partly supporting existing services but about $100 million of that has been ring-fenced to work across agencies. Why I mention that cross-agency funding is because of something we heard from the Mental Health Commissioner last week before the Health Committee. He was speaking very clearly of the need to work across agencies. I am not sure what input he had but we have seen the Minister of Health and others front-foot that early by seeing a particular amount of money—like I said $100 million—put aside in that space. Look there is more funding to district health boards (DHBs). Over $40 million - plus a year I believe is going into the likes of the Auckland District Health Board. That is just indicative. It is right across the country. DHBs are where the tyre hits the road for most health spending be it primary secondary or tertiary care. This is the Government that has continued to deliver more and more operations. The demand keeps growing and so the challenges will keep growing not only to the DHBs but to the Government as well to work out how to fund these. The other area of course in health is always around pharmacological products—so drugs—into the community. There have been about two announcements around this particular appropriation of more funding into Pharmac. It is going to be a continuing challenge I would suggest and I think this Government is up for it of how to embrace a slow change now with drugs between those that manage care and those that cure. Why I am putting that up is that I think that one of the great drugs that have recently been funded is around hepatitis C. I think it was about 2 years ago on the Health Committee that we heard a number of people speaking to the need for a fresh approach here. Particularly again it was that the older drug products actually just managed the condition. Now there are actually drugs out there that cure it and about 50000 New Zealanders are going to benefit from this Government providing more money to Pharmac to ensure that those new drugs are available. It is one of many that have been announced of course—we will remember a few months back the whole discussion around pembrolizumab the likes of Keytruda and Opdivo working particularly against melanoma. I mention that we are funding that drug now but as you may appreciate Mr Assistant Speaker there is the call that that drug be looked at for other conditions—lung cancer comes to mind and actually while I am standing on my feet I acknowledge the likes of Philip Hope and the Lung Foundation for the advocacy they are providing.This is a Government that is responding. We heard that the ambulances needed to be double-crewed; we have found the money for that. All ambulances moving forward will be double-crewed. We have heard particularly from those within the disability community that they want more support and actually through the work of the Minister for Disability Issues Nicky Wagner there is more money available there particularly in pilot programmes that enable disabled people to take much more control of their lives and I think really importantly of the governmental moneys that they are receiving. I think that is an incredibly positive situation.I actually stepped right past—shame on me—one of the biggest announcements in health which is of course $2 billion for the pay equity settlement for the carers. It is terrible for me to forget because actually I had a whole lot of people from the retirement and rest home industry from my electorate in my office yesterday. What a difference that has made for those people who have been in effect underpaid who have seen from 1 July an incredible increase in their wages. That in and of itself is a win but fundamentally and importantly there is also a whole training mechanism now. I think that also plays into something for the Government. It is not simply about throwing money at people and dusting off one's hands; it is how we create a pathway that enables people to become more and more independent and to move up the chain. So there is great news in health; I am pleased to take this call.