Dowie SarahSARAH DOWIE (National—Invercargill): Thank you Mr Chair. Look it is an absolute delight a privilege and a pleasure to rise as the new Opposition spokesperson on conservation and to make a contribution in this appropriations debate. It is also a pleasure because during my time I get to acknowledge the track record in conservation that the previous National-led Government had in respect to seeking results in the conservation portfolio engaging the public and creating opportunity for all New Zealanders in this space.I'd firstly like to take the opportunity to congratulate and thank the Hon Maggie Barry who of course was the Minister of Conservation for a number of years in the previous National-led Government and who was a champion of conservation but of course a champion of our botany of our plants as well. In New Zealand some of our threatened plants don't necessarily get a fair hearing in respect to conservation. It's usually the fluffy furry animals that get most of the attention in regards to eradication and our birds tend to get a lot of attention but she certainly championed the War on Weeds and advocated for the department to spend more time in respect of eradicating weeds and championing our ecosystem for the health of it in its entirety. I thank the Hon Maggie Barry for doing that and bringing a new perspective to conservation.But also of course under the previous Government's watch we had aspirational targets and aspirational initiatives that certainly are going to bring about tangible results as I say for all New Zealanders. Of course one of those initiatives is Predator Free 2050—$28 million to form a joint venture company to seek out partnerships with the community and with businesses to help eradicate rats stoats and possums. Obviously the main aim of course is to reduce the threats on our native wildlife but this has other tangible benefits such as providing better economic return for agriculture and forestry—so looking at New Zealand as a whole—and creating opportunities for regional development. Certainly as the MP for Invercargill—that area encompasses many smaller communities that abut the national park. That is certainly important to allow our communities to touch and feel conservation and to understand first hand the value of conservation and what it can bring to their community and to their families to help them earn a living. That of course inspires Healthy Nature Healthy People which was another initiative under the conservation space—that again if we can understand the benefits of conservation we can invest appropriately and see the wonderful benefits that it brings.The other thing that I'd like to pay praise to the Department of Conservation for that was initiated under the previous National-led Government was a spirit to involve the community. I've touched on that with respect to Predator Free 2050. Certainly to engage with the community on smaller-scale projects—that eventually will feed into Predator Free 2050—but to engage with communities to get children families and seniors involved in conservation not only in respect to the community or businesses but also to form partnerships with other Government departments to bring about benefits moving forward. One of those partnerships is of course with the Department of Corrections—again down in my area—with the formation of a partnership between the Department of Corrections and the Department of Conservation to build a kākāpōrium where offenders have learnt firsthand the skills of building and renovating to pull together a wonderful building to showcase the kākāpō and to allow the community to visit and see firsthand again the benefits of conservation. The National-led Government's record in regards to conservation is second to none and we should be praising that.