Lu NancyNANCY LU (National): Today is a really good day that a lot of the communities are celebrating all across New Zealand. Let me set the scene: New Zealanders are actually worse off in the last few years and I say that because I went through to the Stats New Zealand website today and I had a really really good look at information on Stats New Zealand. This is—please if I can read: the average cost of housing per week was up 14.5 percent in the year ended June 2023 than one year ago. So the average cost of housing for New Zealanders has gone up 14.5 percent. That includes 4 percent increase in rent 27.5 percent increase in mortgage 5.9 percent increase in property rates 14.1 percent increase in building-related insurance costs. Costs are going up everywhere for almost all households throughout the top to the bottom of New Zealand for almost every New Zealand household. So this is why when I travel up and down the country most people are asking me—the number one thing that people ask me is What is the Government doing with addressing the cost of living problem for New Zealand—Ricardo Menéndez March: Increasing child poverty.NANCY LU: —because we are suffering." And yes members across the House are yelling about child poverty but what about house poverty? They are struggling; parents are struggling. So in the year ended June 2023 8.5 percent of New Zealand's population were in material hardship. That is another 1.1 percent increase than the previous 12 months and also 0.9 percent increase in New Zealand's population in severe material hardship. All of this has occurred under the last Government and this is concrete evidence in stats to show that New Zealanders are suffering up and down the country. So when the National Party campaigned on providing tax relief to the hard-working low- to middle-income earners in New Zealand when we campaigned throughout the country people voted for it because that's what people wanted and that's what people need. So what does that mean for New Zealanders from today? Many of my colleagues have talked about what it means for their region and what it means for the hard-working New Zealand Kiwis. I must emphasise: 83 percent of the New Zealanders—and that is 83 percent of people who are listening in and tuning in on TV—83 percent of you will have some support and some benefits from the tax relief that will be effective from today. It will help to increase your personal income. It will help whether you're a family with children it will help if you're an individual tax earner it will help if you have young children who are going through the early childhood education. So New Zealanders we do have some really great news for you all. We had a record low of 3.3 percent inflation under the National Government for the last 12 months. We are bringing in tax relief to help our New Zealand families and this is the first time in the last 14 years. Some of the members before me in the Opposition actually talked about what does $2.50 matter for New Zealanders. Well it does matter because I have met a family who told me they have to borrow $5 to fill up gas so they can drive to a supermarket to get some food for the family. So $2.50 matters; every cent matters and every single dollar matters. So for those watching on TV if you have to borrow $5 to go to the supermarket it does matter. If you have to borrow from your neighbours and your family just to get by the next few days it does matter. And I have to say it matters also to Yalei and Isaac who I have talked about in the House who texted me on the first day that we announced the Budget that they will be getting $116.50 in tax savings every two weeks amounting to $3029 for the year. Today it matters. It matters to you Yalei and Isaac. It matters to many of our New Zealand families around the country. Today is a day that is worth celebrating because today is a day where you feel some break and a little bit of pressure taken off you. So please families like Yalei and Isaac go out and take a little time out for you and your family today and celebrate and please go on to check the tax relief and tax calculator."