van de Molen TimTIM VAN DE MOLEN (National—Waikato): Thank you Mr Speaker. Today marks the first day that large parts of the Waikato have returned to alert level 2 and the border freedoms in particular are a welcome relief. It's also my first opportunity to speak back in this House after the weeks of lockdown and it's important that I do to share the story of what's happened in the Waikato because the Prime Minister has not bothered to come and visit our region. Ministers have not bothered to come and visit our region to understand how difficult it has been. The alert level 3 restrictions have been incredibly difficult for businesses in our region for families in our region and for our communities. It should not have been like this. It should not have been this hard. The Government had 18 months to prepare to come up with solutions and they squandered it and unfortunately Waikato residents have been let down by this Government's lack of planning for the vaccination roll-out or for preparing for any range of different scenarios that might have happened dealing with different alert levels across different regions—all those things hadn't been prepared for. Waikato residents have been let down by this Government's lack of understanding for the impact and the breadth of scenarios that could be presented the complexities of everyday life and businesses. Waikato residents have been let down by this Government's lack of compassion. Every day I have been on the phone and responding to emails of heartbreaking cases of business owners and family members desperate for some support and for some leniency from arbitrary rules and yet there has been none. It is just cruel. How much must be sacrificed? Of course we accept some. Kiwis are prepared to make a sacrifice for the greater good but in return they expect a Government that will stand up and deliver when it's needed. This Government has not done that for New Zealanders and for Waikato in particular we have felt that pain over these many weeks now of lockdowns. Instead the Government relied on the financial equity of businesses. They mined that. They relied on the community resilience and they have weakened that. They relied on strong family support and they have restricted that as well. Sadly for many this is irrecoverable. Businesses have failed. Community groups have gone under. The impact will be long-lasting. But I know the Waikato is tough. If anyone can recover from some of these challenges it will be us and I have absolute faith in the residents of the Waikato. To those in the Waikato I would say that I'm sorry I haven't been able to influence this Government more. I have heard your challenging stories. It has been incredibly difficult for you and I wish I could have done more. But I am sorry also that this Government has let you down. Your businesses and your families should not have had to suffer like this. A bit more leniency a bit more understanding a bit more compassion—those are things that could easily have been managed and it would have made such a difference for people all across the Waikato region. To the Government: well the damage is done. Reflect on that. Think about that. But the least you can do now is to actually give a little bit more certainty. Help out those businesses that are left. Those families those community groups that remain—give them some certainty. We still continue to hear rule changes every day. The Government are flip-flopping from one set of rules to another. It is simply not good enough. How can businesses plan for their future? How can they try to recover to salvage something from this mess if they still don't know where the goalposts will be from one day to the next? The Government must do better. Get rid of managed isolation and quarantine. Give residents in the Waikato the ability to control their future again. Give them the chance to salvage what they can to try to recover as best they can and to get on with life. How much more impact must there be from a Government that simply doesn't understand and is not performing?