SpeechVANUSHI WALTERS (Labour—Upper Harbour): Thank you Mr Speaker for the opportunity to take a call in relation to the Estimates and the imprest supply bill. I brought along a copy of my wellbeing Budget 2023. I do carry this around with me as I'm travelling because there is so much in here for New Zealanders—there is so much in here for New Zealanders. But a Budget is more than a collection of bound papers; it's been said several times through the Estimates debate: a Budget is a moral document. It is more than a set of papers; it is an inherently ethical undertaking we go through when we're deciding what to spend funds on.This is Labour's fifth Wellbeing Budget and I think there is some poetry that the phrase Wellbeing Budget" now rolls off our tongues like the two terms are inherently connected. But they aren't—they're not—for every party around this House. They are a choice that this Government has made to put people's wellbeing first. We have done that consistently for the last five years. We've put people first in terms of making the most of opportunities that are available to them and responding to their wellbeing needs and responding in a crisis.I must say I was actually kind of tickled to hear David Seymour speak about a special kind of incompetence but perhaps I will be kind rather than using those words about him and say that what we have in his case is perhaps a perplexing kind of amnesia. Mr Goldsmith appears to be demonstrating the same kind of amnesia. Both of them asked what we've seen in terms of the results of our Government spending over the last five years. There has been something we've gone through called the COVID experience. "What have we seen?"—what have we seen? The lowest morbidity rates in the OECD; the lowest hospitalisation rates in the OECD. Lives health and wellbeing may not matter to that side of the House but it does on this side of the House.We put people first and Budget 2023 is no exception. In north-west Auckland our communities our businesses our whānau are still feeling the effects of the Auckland anniversary floods and Cyclone Gabrielle. I have walked through the homes of people in Massey who have been affected. I've spoken to the red-stickered residents of Muriwai. There are devastating impacts that continue in those communities which is why Budget 2023 builds on the $889 million already provided to provide an immediate response to those events with supporting the reinstatement of our roads our rail networks repairing and rebuilding homes and damaged schools as well. We invested in providing direct support in terms of temporary accommodation to those who were suffering most but also we recognised that there were wellbeing needs and we provided counselling support including to some of the children who had been affected.Again I went out to Muriwai and a family spoke to me about the huge numbers of children who went to the local school who were affected where Visionwest went in and provided immediate support. But for us it's not just about responding to the immediate; it's also about keeping a weather eye on the future which is why we also look to protect communities from future climate impacts including a $100 million fund to help councils invest in future flood resilience. Support for today building for tomorrow.We are a Government that is about putting people first and supporting families is absolutely key to that. At one stage in my life my husband and I had three children under 5½ years old and almost every conversation I had with others who were parenting kids of that age would be about what the tipping point was: when can you afford to go back to work go back into your workplace? The 20 hours of free early childhood education for two-year-olds is going to be a game-changer for so many families who can make that choice when they want to which for many would be earlier and for those who would have chosen the option anyway it puts extra money in their pockets. I think of the families who attend the Seeds Early Learning Centre just up the road from my electorate office. They will be saving up to $133.20 per week. That is huge. That is this Government addressing the cost of living for families.We are about putting people first. We are about bread and butter issues. The $5 co-payment issue—we removed that. While it might seem small to members opposite I've spoken to pharmacists including one on the corner of Moire Road in Massey who spoke to me about the fact that people who lived locally and had never—never—picked up their prescriptions before were coming to pick up their prescriptions. This is a game-changer for people in terms of the cost of living but it's also smart policy that's squarely focused on multiple benefits. The fact that these are people who can pick up their prescriptions means that they won't be turning up a month or two months later at Waitakere Hospital or at North Shore Hospital.I have a wonderful youth advisory group in Upper Harbour who talk to me about the issues that matter most to them. I spoke to them about what matters most in Budget 2023 and they spoke about the free fares for young people. They spoke about the half-price fares for under-25s. There is a huge cohort of young people in Upper Harbour who travel across the city to get to school to get to university. This is another example of a policy that will not only benefit them in terms of addressing the cost of living but also has a multiplier effect in terms of the reduction of carbon emissions as young people start to embed taking public transport in their lives.This is not a Budget that's just about sound policy though. I'm also proud of the methodology of this Budget. This is a Budget that sees women. For the first time Budget 2023 includes a gender budgeting snapshot. Gender budgeting is a powerful tool for understanding how and to what extent people will be affected differently by initiatives depending on their gender. It applies a gender lens in 15 agencies. That's triple the number from last year's pilot that have been using this methodology. It covers 27 initiatives. Which initiatives? Well one is funding to permanently reinstate the Training Incentive Allowance which will support sole parents and disabled people and their carers to enter higher education and training. Now since 2021 the initiative has supported approximately 5000 clients of whom 90 percent have been women. There are several other initiatives that because of this budgeting methodology will influence what women have access to including the digital tech industry transformation plan package which aims to increase the number of women participating in the tech sector from 27 percent to 50 percent by 2030. This is a game-changer.I've started to use the word "game-changer" far more frequently in the last six months and the reason is because this is what people are telling me across the country. In Upper Harbour I go into schools and principals talk about what a game-changer it is that kids have access to free lunches in schools and free period products. I talk to people on the doors who talk about the winter energy payment being a game-changer in terms of their lives. These might seem small to that side of the House; they are game-changers for everyday New Zealanders. Under our Labour Government you will continue to see these investments—an increase in the minimum wage access to medicines funding supports for our minority communities including through our essential ministries.Budgets are moral documents; I wholeheartedly believe this to be true. I'm incredibly proud to be part of a Government who at every corner in the face of crisis and in identifying opportunities for New Zealanders puts people first and makes sure we all thrive together."