SpeechGLEN BENNETT (Labour—New Plymouth): Kia ora Madam Speaker. Thank you for letting me take a call on this very important debate around the Prime Minister's statement. Our previous speaker the Hon Gerry Brownlee spoke for 10 minutes and the only sentence I remember of that 10 minutes was Is this the end of me?" Well if that speech is anything to go by it probably is.But on this side of the House we are excited and motivated to ensure the wellbeing and the future of New Zealand. I want to thank our Prime Minister. I want to thank all of our Ministers who have worked so hard in the last few years who have worked so hard since the last election to ensure the wellbeing of New Zealand the wellbeing of all people. It's been tough. It's been really tough—and I don't say that lightly. I know that for all of us it has been hard. But we're here. We're working together as the Prime Minister said and we will rise to the challenge that COVID-19 throws at us. It's drawn us together. I know that there have been moments when we've been apart and it's been tough but it is a pandemic that we have to focus and deal with and I thank our Prime Minister for taking the lead on that. I want to take a moment as the MP for New Plymouth to reflect on what's gone on for myself and for those in the electorate of New Plymouth: the things that we've done around building back better which has been so important. I want to talk about really briefly because it's kind of a strange one but we put $37 million in to our thermal drying facility in New Plymouth for our wastewater treatment. I know it's a crappy thing to talk about but it's actually really important to ensure that we create jobs—I created a good pun; that was really average and a dad joke but hey I got there in the end. Our education system—many of our schools in the New Plymouth electorate and many of our schools around Taranaki and many of our schools around New Zealand have needed work done and I'm proud that this Government has invested $23 million—$23 million—in the rebuild of Spotswood College in New Plymouth; not only creating jobs but creating a modern and a 21st century learning environment for the students who will go through Spotswood College in my 'hood. There was also more than $5.4 million put into classroom upgrades and to ensuring that pool facilities and fields were organised—and again creating jobs as we build back better.Jobs for Nature in Taranaki: 15 projects equalling more than $17 million has been put in not only for our environment not only for our sustainability and not only for the restoration of what has been lost but it's also around those jobs. More than 116 fulltime-equivalents are being created around the Jobs for Nature doing things such as pest control riparian planting stream health species restoration the protection of taonga species such as our kiwi and our kōkako biodiversity and biosecurity projects and the restoring of our ecological corridor from the Waiwhakaiho River through to our beautiful Taranaki Maunga ensuring that with planting and weed control that our water species are able to thrive once more. I'm grateful that we are able to invest in our marae around Taranaki around the New Plymouth electorate. Such an important space. So much was lost so long ago and it's a step in the direction of partnership. It's a step to remind us that we value and that we will continue and I will continue to support the development of iwi and hapū in a post-settlement region such as Taranaki. I just want to finish around our vaccinations and I want to say to those here today that I've got the numbers this morning for Taranaki around our vaccinations. Our Pasifika community in Taranaki are 100 percent vaccinated—100 percent fully vaccinated. How exciting is that? We're 93 percent fully vaccinated 95 percent full dose and 60 percent have been boosted. We've also got our Māori who are 86 percent and double-vaxxed is 90 percent. We're almost there. We're getting close and I'm grateful to our health professionals. I'm grateful to those who are ensuring that our society that our region and that the electorate of New Plymouth is protected from what is to come: this Omicron that is here with us right now. I want to say thank you to our Prime Minister for taking the lead to our Ministers for walking and supporting her and I am really proud to stand in support of the Prime Minister's address."