Russell DeborahDr DEBORAH RUSSELL (Labour—New Lynn): Thank you Mr Speaker. Before I move to the main substance of my speech I'd like to just say that I'm bemused that the most recent speaker was advocating for an even later date for hospitality to reopen. Perhaps she could front up with that with her businesses. I'd also like to comment that to my knowledge I've never seen anyone other than David Seymour or Brooke van Velden give a general debate speech from the ACT Party. Do they not trust the other members of their team?However having said that I would like to talk about what it has been like in Auckland and the work that Aucklanders have done. People have asked me What is it like up there?" And to me there's been just one word for it: it has been dreary. Dreary has been a good word. It's been hard going. Now for many people it's been incredibly tough because of the need to support their families and themselves. But ordinarily even in tough times it is possible to see friends it is possible to go out easily perhaps you might have a treat of a meal out perhaps it's even just going to the beach with someone you haven't seen for a while. But we haven't been able to do even that and hence the dreariness.But in amongst that dreariness Auckland has been doing the mahi has been doing the work. People have been going out and getting vaccinated. I'm proud of the rates in my electorate of New Lynn: 94 percent first dose 87 percent second dose. That's a great effort from the area I come from. I'm proud of the work that I've been able to do with some of our other elected representatives getting pop-up clinics into areas which are under-vaccinated. So about three weeks ago four weeks ago when I was crunching some of the data. We knew that vaccination rates were low in Waitakere village low in Huia and in Pīhā low in Glenavon. So with the help of Dr Anthony Jordan and Harshna Mistry from the district health boards (DHBs) and with fellow local representatives Greg Presland Shane Henderson Kay Thomas Saffron Toms and a local in Huia Fleur Gray we arranged to get pop-up clinics out so that we could try to get those vaccination rates up. It was a real example of working with people to get the vaccinations done. I'm very grateful to those people for their work.The rates are actually still a bit low in Huia and Pīhā and Kerikeri so I'll be making a bit of a push there. But Glenavon which has the lowest decile school in my electorate 91 percent vaccinated. It's been a great effort there; I'm really delighted to see it.Across the three DHBs in Auckland: Counties Manukau 91.2 percent vaccinated—first vax; Waitematā 92.8 percent have received their first vaccination; Auckland DHB 95.4 percent of people have received their first vaccination. It's a huge effort and my huge thanks to the teams that have made that happen—particularly up in my rauhī the Waipareira Trust which has done an amazing job.I have been talking to people who don't want to get vaccinated for all sorts of reasons and often it is very hard to understand why. But all I can say to those people is to talk to their doctor—not to Dr Facebook not to Dr TikTok not to Dr YouTube but to their medical doctor—to ask them to check their sources of information to be really careful about where they're getting their information from and to look at the evidence. And the evidence is absolutely clear: it is far safer getting the vaccine—far far safer—than getting COVID. COVID is disastrous.For the rest of us who've been vaccinated already I want people to get their booster shots when they come due and to get their vaccination certificates. For those of us who find it easy to navigate the digital world to help other people to get their vaccination certificates so that people are free to move this summer.Auckland has been doing the mahi. The whole country has been doing the mahi but now as an Aucklander I am asking the rest of the country to step up too and to get those vaccinations up. It's happening well in the big cities but we need more work going on in rural areas—and I know that our health people are working incredibly hard.One other thing: I would like the other side to acknowledge that the solutions on this side of the House have been the right solutions. There have been very few deaths in this country and the economy is thriving. We're doing well."