SpeechIBRAHIM OMER (Labour): Thank you Mr Speaker. This is my first contribution to the general debate since we got back from the break in 2023 and I appreciate this opportunity. I also want to start my contribution by paying tribute to our outgoing Prime Minister the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern. A lot has been said about Jacinda but as someone who comes from the Muslim community for me Jacinda is always going to be about March 15 and the way that she handled the tragic terror attacks on Christchurch masjidain. When I say this I speak on behalf of all the Muslim community and I just want to say thank you to Jacinda. We are indebted to you. Go well and see you some time soon. As the Hon Carmel Sepuloni said 2023 started really hard. We have seen floods in Auckland and Cyclone Gabrielle which exacerbated the cost of living that was already raging. Kiwis are having it tough but this Government has got a plan and we are listening and that's why Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has made it his mission that his priorities are going to be about the bread and butter issues that are affecting Kiwis. That's why we have seen the 1 April increases and 1.4 million Kiwis receiving extra help with the cost of living. I want to specifically talk about the increase in the minimum wage which has increased by $1.50. That takes the minimum wage up to $22.70. Since 2017 our Government has consistently increased the minimum wage on average by 6 percent. That's how we are protecting low-paid workers from the cost of living. I want to talk about the National Party. We've seen a lot of screams and a lot of conspiracy theories about what this Government is doing—this Government's intentions. The average minimum wage increase with nine years of the National Party in Government was 3.3 percent which is a 50c average even though the working people were screaming for an increase on minimum wage. As someone who was on minimum wage for years and years I know that every single cent helps. We have heard a lot about how the minimum wage is going to cause job losses which it didn't and we have heard that the minimum wage was going to increase inflation which it didn't. The low-paid workers who actually got this country through the darkest time of COVID-19 are sick and tired of hearing about how the dollar pay increase that they get is going to crash the economy as if the world is going to end. The National Party has consistently rejected the Minister's proposal to increase the minimum wage but what we are saying is that the minimum wage is just an umbrella wage. We're not saying it's enough; we're just saying that it's something that people can live on. That's why this Government has made it its mission to increase the minimum wage by 6 percent consistently since 2017. With fair pay agreements and the other measures that have been put in place we have no doubt that the struggling workforce in this country is going to get through this difficult time. I'm very proud of this Government's track record in helping the working people and Prime Minister Chris Hipkins' positive start is very encouraging. One last comment I want to make is that we have seen the CEOs' pay increasing in this country by hundreds of thousands of dollars and we haven't heard one single word of criticism. When the minimum wage goes up by a dollar we hear screams. It's very disappointing and it's very surprising. Thank you Mr Speaker. The debate having concluded the motion lapsed.