Bidois DanDAN BIDOIS (National—Northcote): It's a pleasure to rise and take a call on a bill that allows the benefits to increase by the Consumers Price Index (CPI) as opposed to wage growth. I have some comments for Barbara Edmonds the new Opposition spokesperson on finance around finance. The first is that it's not beneficiaries' tax money; it's actually hard-working New Zealanders' tax money and it is being given to beneficiaries. The second thing that I'd like to say to the member is that there were 70000 extra people on a jobseeker benefit under the last six years of that Government and any person who is taking on the finance portfolio for Labour needs to know how much that costs the State: $1 billion extra a year. That is how much damage that that Government did in office and that's what we've got to turn around today. I want to also pick up on another comment from the Green Party around the impact of this bill which was that it will make the gap between beneficiaries and those in work even worse. I say to the member Ricardo Menéndez March that in fact the best way to reduce that gap is to get people who are on a benefit into work and that is our challenge and that's our opportunity. But we have traversed this topic a lot in the House in the last few weeks. We've traversed this topic a lot in the last year in the election campaign which that side of the House lost overwhelmingly. They lost their seats to large majorities from this side of the House. I do want to come to what I believe is the core matter for this bill which is the type of country that we want to live in in the future. Now we want a country where there is a social safety net—yes—and actually I think all sides of this House can agree on our having a social safety net. But I believe that the future we want for our country is a future where people live independently live happy healthy productive lives and they understand the value and the dignity of work. That is the main way that people can get ahead for themselves for their families—and actually don't trust me; trust the evidence as Chlöe Swarbrick used to say. The evidence is that those in work have better mental health—Chlöe Swarbrick: Yep. DAN BIDOIS: —yes?—Chlöe Swarbrick: Yep. DAN BIDOIS: —have more productive capacity and have better wellbeing and so that's exactly what we have in this bill. We want to have a case of actually improving benefits modestly by the inflation rate—which by the way I have to remind the other side of the House that it's 4.7 percent. Maybe if they had known how much inflation was they might have done better in the last election. Our 100-day plan is to in fact start a journey to reverse the terrible trend that we've been on for the past six years to restore the dignity of work and to make sure we get those 70000 extra people on a jobseeker benefit into work so that they can get ahead for themselves and their families. That is what I think we all want in this House and that is the challenge before us as a Government. Now I do want to just touch on what a member said which was that we were taking us back to Ruth Richardson's cuts. Now I'm no person of history but Ruth Richardson actually cut the benefits and we are not cutting. For those that are watching at home we are increasing benefits by the CPI. That actually keeps the purchasing power for those who are on a benefit—it protects that OK? So if you're watching from home and you're on a benefit we are not cutting your benefit. It is a pleasure to commend this bill to the House.