SpeechHon TRACEY MARTIN (Minister for Children): I speak today on behalf of New Zealand First on behalf of our leader the Rt Hon Winston Peters and to our role in this coalition Government. The most important role of any Government is protecting its people. Many great thinkers down through the ages have talked about the role of the State and the social contract it has with its citizens but this isn't an academic discussion; this is about people's lives.No matter what our beliefs are our political colours or differences everyone comes to this Parliament wanting to make people's lives better. Sadly that's not why we're here right now. We're here because this coalition Government is doing everything it can to stop people's lives from getting worse.We're seeking emergency powers to deal with an emergency situation. We're taking actions to stop the spread of a virus—COVID-19—that has killed tens of thousands of people around the world and it will go on doing so. Everyone has seen the emerging evidence and pictures. This is not New Zealand's fault but we don't want that happening here. We do not want growing numbers of people sick we do not want New Zealanders—our friends our parents our neighbours our whānau—to die. Those things are obvious.If that was the only thing we were dealing with this would be easy. But there are other things New Zealanders also expect and deserve of us. They want to have jobs. They want their businesses to succeed. They want to be able to pay their bills. They also want freedom to be able to travel to see our friends and family but many of these freedoms must now temporarily be constrained. We want our country to be fair. So that's what we've been discussing and debating and deciding around the Cabinet table or in some of our colleagues' cases over the phone.How do we best protect New Zealanders from coronavirus? How do we best protect our way of life? And how do we do this in a way that Kiwis—these wonderful independent innovative freedom-loving caring people—think is fair? If people think that what we're doing is fair and makes sense then they will support it.What we've seen is that New Zealanders understand what this Government is doing. They understand why. And so they've been preparing for a new way of living over the next few weeks. No one is welcoming this but all of us are getting on with it. So people know what the decisions are. What we're debating here later on today are the laws that will allow them to occur. We thought it important to let the public know how decisions were made. Yes we listened to experts and we thank them. We owe so much to the quality of the advice and the quality of the people who advise and work for the Government. We are taking expert health and science advice and we are watching very carefully what other countries are doing and what is working and what is not. But throughout this process—and it has been a fast one—we have had to decide what we will do and when. We have had to decide what health steps to take to keep people safe and think through how every one of those steps impacts on people's lives in some way.We've had to make hard decisions and we've had to make them quickly and we had to try and get them right. It is one of the strongest things of this coalition Government and Cabinet: as well as having professional thoughtful advice from our departments and advisers we have looked to each other to our experiences and at the people around us. For New Zealand First this is about constantly asking about the practical impact of our decisions. What does this mean for children and parents and teachers and baristas and hairdressers and bus drivers and seniors? How will we explain this to our mums and dads and to our children? What will it mean for them?Some of us have had experience in being in isolation recently. The Deputy Prime Minister has already mentioned how New Zealanders have responded to other great challenges being a member of that generation raised in the shadow of the Depression and war. All of these things have shaped our Government's response: the best possible medical and scientific advice the absolute desire to keep New Zealanders safe and healthy and the equal desire to keep our Kiwi way of life—all of our experiences and judgments and an absolute belief in how good and how kind New Zealanders are. The measures that are being passed today will not matter if New Zealanders do not show this character and look out for one another by staying at home. And remember we are all human. There will be mistakes. We might not get everything exactly right the first time but we will learn from those and improve.I also want to speak as the Minister for Seniors and the Minister for Children. To New Zealand: look out for yourselves look out for each other and please especially look out for people who are older and look out for children. I'm talking about the people in your life and family and also those you may never have met before. Be good neighbours but seriously we must keep a two metre distance. That doesn't mean you can't talk over the fence or through a door or window but keep to the advised two metre distance. This isn't a time to let people feel alone or isolated. This is a time for us to show our character.Already we have communities setting up Facebook bear hunts where neighbours in communities put teddy bears into windows facing the street so that children accompanied by their parents and caregivers can go out for a walk following the social distancing rules we keep repeating and find the bears—or the self-isolation support groups that are springing up around New Zealand via Facebook. Neighbours can sign on to volunteer to support those who are over 70 or immune compromised or vulnerable. All those that need support can register to receive it. Get on the phone or Facebook all right as I did recently with my mum; hook your loved one up to Skype and make plans to stay in touch with the 65-pluses you know and make sure they're getting the support they need.For our over 70s we know you are the most vulnerable but we also know that many of you are vibrant with active lives. But you are at greater risk from this virus so please be careful. Stay at home. To parents that are going to have their children at home—and I don't imagine anybody thinks that the next four weeks won't be without a tiny bit of strain—please take the following advice. Don't try to recreate the school environment at home don't download the curriculum or set recess breaks and don't break your house up into classroom areas. You're not being asked to home-school your children. The best thing to do is to do things with them. Play board games do the dishes sing a song help with the laundry give them alone time and some screen time. You need to show them that while things are not the same they will be all right. You are not their teachers; you are their parents and their family members their whānau—be a family but follow the official advice.Don't be hard on yourselves and don't be hard on others. But of course there is worry. And if the adults act like adults and follow the simple rules outlined again and again by medical experts the command logistics team the Prime Minister and the Government then we can minimise the impact on our communities and our country. This whole encumbrance this massive challenge this call to unity against an invisible enemy is designed to minimise the effect of an alien intruder and maximise our chances to get through this crisis together.My grandmother on my father's side lost her father and her little brother in 1918 during the influenza epidemic and then she and her sister had to stay with the Sisters of Mercy. These are the stories we don't want other families to have to pass down. Together we are stronger. This too will end. Please follow the medical advice.