SpeechDEBATE ON PRIME MINISTER'S STATEMENTRt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister): I move That this House express its confidence in the Government and commend its programme for 2022 as set out in the Prime Minister's Statement. It is with confidence in our plan that I stand before you resolute in the job that stands ahead of us. And that job is clear: to lead New Zealand through this pandemic to take on the challenges that we already face as a nation to strengthen our economy and emerge stronger than we were before.This year represents the third year of the COVID pandemic and we begin with a plan to keep us safe and to help keep the country moving forward. Our guiding principle for the last two years has been to protect lives and to protect livelihoods and that is exactly what we have done. Our confirmed cases hospitalisations and deaths have been the lowest in the OECD for the past two years. We now have one of the most highly vaccinated populations in the world with 94 percent of those aged 12 and over double-vaccinated. And 42 percent of our children have now had their first dose as well and just in time for school.One point six million New Zealanders have already received their COVID-19 booster vaccination as well. And the fact that we have collectively worked together to look after one another's health—that's also cushioned the blow to the economy. In fact it's done more than that. Unemployment is at record lows. Record numbers of New Zealanders have moved off the main benefit and into work and growth remains strong with record export prices for our dairy sector and I acknowledge our primary producers and the role that they have played during this pandemic. So to the team of 5 million who have made all of that possible we say thank you. We also say let's keep going because we are not yet done. Omicron is the next challenge that we face and it is a new and difficult phase of the pandemic as New Zealanders prepare to encounter COVID-19 in a way that we have not yet to date and at a scale we are not used to seeing in this country. But we do have the tools and a plan to get us through. Now that includes the COVID-19 Protection Framework which uses public health measures to slow down the spread of Omicron but still allows our businesses to open and to operate. It includes the vaccine campaign with a big focus on boosters which has already seen more than half of our eligible population boosted. And it includes a specific plan for each stage of the Omicron outbreak: on how we'll manage contacts; increases in testing including how we'll use the 180 million rapid antigen tests we have ordered; and how we'll support critical services to continue operating when their workers may have COVID in their household. No country is immune from Omicron's disruption but we are working hard to avoid the worst of it and we are better prepared than most.I have a really important message though for all New Zealanders: boosters are our strongest weapon at this point. Every booster strengthens our immunity and it takes pressure importantly off our health system. So to every New Zealander: if you are eligible please go and get boosted today. It is the most significant thing that you can do to protect your family; your friends; those hard-working nurses doctors paramedics and all of our dedicated health workers.Māori and Pacific health and community providers also remain essential to our plan as they have all the way through. Now we've supported their work by investing over $250 million including $120 million to support Māori communities to fast track vaccinations and prepare for COVID-19 in our community and we'll continue that work in partnership.But advice from our experts tells us that Omicron will not be the last variant that we will face this year. It's advice that sadly the Opposition I notice have chosen to ignore. They declared 1 December Freedom Day": the day that borders should open even when the World Health Organization had declared Omicron a variant of concern and the booster campaign had only just begun. They claim that they are ready to manage the pandemic because they have declared it over. They were wrong then and they are wrong now. It is not over but that does not mean that we cannot move forward and that we cannot keep making progress—and so we are.This year begins our reconnection with the world and you would have already heard me announce the phases of our reopening plan that will see those already eligible to come into our managed isolation facilities to now be able to self-isolate beginning with the first step in less than three weeks' time. Now this is an important moment as we reconnect with family and with friends and as business access the skilled labour that they need and as exporters more easily connect with really important markets.New Zealand is in demand and this year we meet that head on. So everything we step into this year requires planning and preparation and here is where we'll take the very best of our COVID response to address our other challenges. Now the Ministry of Health and district health boards are working already to reduce the impact of seasonal illnesses that we know will have an impact on our health system particularly as New Zealand reconnects with the world. Seasonal influenza will likely re-emerge. We need to prepare and here's how we'll do that. First we'll deliver an influenza immunisation programme to maximise uptake for at-risk New Zealanders. Using the expertise and the infrastructure that we've already generated from the COVID-19 vaccination programme we'll work hard to deliver high rates of vaccination for our elderly our immunocompromised and anyone else at risk.But that's not all we can do. We know the importance of staying home when you're sick and we've made that easier with workers now eligible for 10 days' sick leave to reduce illness in the workplace. We know the importance of keeping our kids in schools and early learning centres so we're working hard to make that as safe as possible by offering vaccines to 5- to 11-year-olds maximising natural ventilation and investing in filtration machines. But it's the place we spend most of our time that requires the most investment. We need healthier homes warmer homes drier homes homes that don't make our tamariki sick. That's why our Warmer Kiwi Homes programme has already delivered 80000 insulation and heating installs in low-income households since 2018—and by the end of this financial year we'll accelerate the roll-out of insulation and heating installs delivering 30000 more warm dry homes. And this is work we are pleased to continue with the Green Party.We're also going to roll out the Healthy Homes Initiative to an additional nine new regions which means more insulation curtains beds bedding minor repairs floor coverings ventilation heating sources—all of the things that decrease hospitalisations and the incidence of things like rheumatic fever in this country. On top of this we'll get on with building more housing and continuing to overcome the housing crisis we inherited. Kāinga Ora and community housing providers will deliver over 2000 additional public housing places—that's adding to the 8700 delivered since November 2017. And while I note some members on the front bench of the Opposition may laugh these are numbers that far outstrip anything that Government ever managed to build while they were in Government when their focus was on selling down public housing stock rather than building the homes that we need. Whai Kāinga Whai Oranga and the Māori Infrastructure Fund will also see the delivery of approximately 1000 new homes repairs to 700 homes and 2700 additional infrastructure-enabled sites. Now together these represent the greatest investment ever in Māori housing.But housing represents—and we know this in this House—just one of the many challenges we faced as a nation before COVID. Our health system was also in desperate need of reform. It's not right that the care that you get in our health system in this country can vary so much depending on where you live. One of our top priorities this year is the abolition of district health boards and the establishment of Health New Zealand and the Māori Health Authority to deliver a genuinely national health service for all New Zealanders.We want all New Zealanders to live longer and healthier lives which is why the Māori Health Authority is absolutely key. We all know the dire statistics; they are undeniable. Māori die at twice the rate as non-Māori from cardiovascular disease. Māori tamariki have a mortality rate 1½ times the rate found in non-Māori children. Māori die on average seven years earlier than non-Māori. We must turn these stats around. Doing the same old things won't cut it anymore. Now some have called our plan "separatist" when in fact the opposite is true: this is about reaching the equality we currently do not have in this country. We are also going to establish a new public health agency to ensure we're better equipped to fight any future pandemics that we may face as a nation.We will also better support the estimated 1.1 million disabled people in New Zealand through the new Ministry for Disabled People; stand-alone accessibility legislation that identifies prevents and removes barriers to participation; and the national roll-out of Enabling Good Lives which puts the voice of disabled people and their families at the heart of decision making. This is work that's time is overdue.If there is another challenge that COVID has highlighted in this country—that already existed—it is mental health. I was speaking to a medical practitioner recently who conveyed to me the additional appointments that they'd seen in their practice as a result of the pandemic—increased or exacerbated depression and anxiety in particular. This is all the more reason to continue with the roll-out of primary mental health services and addiction services across New Zealand. We have established new primary and community mental health and addiction services in general practice as well as kaupapa Māori- Pacific- and youth-specific practices. Together these services have now delivered over 280000 sessions since the programme began in July 2019 and provided support to over 27000 people in between July and September of 2021. By the end of this year 2.7 million enrolled New Zealanders will have access to integrated primary mental health and addiction care through general practice. That is a step change in how New Zealanders access mental health services and brings the delivery of mental health into the place where people get support for their health needs already.But that is not enough for us. This year we will also expand the successful Mana Ake scheme that provides mental health and resilience support for New Zealand children in years 1 to 8 to 24000 of our most vulnerable children expanding into Northland Counties Manukau Bay of Plenty Lakes DHB and the West Coast region.But alongside the known vulnerability of our children and our young people we also know there are two communities that have particularly high rates of burnout and stress and they are our small-business owners and we're increasingly seeing the impacts of mental health issues in our rural communities. COVID-19 has exacerbated this with ongoing uncertainty and isolation. Rural communities also face the challenge of accessing mental health services. We're committed to working with small-business groups and the rural sector to ensure better support and access to mental health.In the face of two years of pandemic and disruption New Zealand businesses and workers have proven to be resilient they've proven to be adaptable and they've proven to be innovative. We have weathered the storm of COVID better than many of our key trading partners. New Zealand's economy grew 4.9 percent over the last year outperforming much of the OECD. Our primary sector obtained record export prices. We have a construction boom underpinned by our infrastructure programme and strong support for new housing. But that is not the limit of our ambition because as I said last week in our COVID recovery we must not return to business as usual because we are better than that.In fact we were elected to address the challenges that have held too many back for too long. That's why our economic plan is to build a high-wage low-carbon economy that provides economic security in good times and in bad. It is focused on increasing the value of our exports and developing new markets; investing in skills and new technology; modernising infrastructure; research and innovation to drive productivity; reducing emissions; and of course increasing wages. Let's break some of those elements down. As the border opens New Zealand's exporters will be able to reconnect face to face. We'll build on that with a proactive programme of re-engaging with high priority international markets. New Zealand will sign a free-trade agreement with the United Kingdom. We'll continue to work towards concluding a free-trade agreement with the European Union and I will lead trade delegations and trade-supporting visits to key markets in Europe the United States Australia and Asia this year.As a Labour Government building skills and training opportunities is key and at the heart of our agenda. It not only links into our wider plans on infrastructure it also underpins and enables a productive high-wage economy. We have already started the work to develop and grow our talent here. We already have the reform of vocational training in this country with six new industry-governed workforce development councils. You can see the impact we're having in the numbers. Our investment in fees-free apprenticeships and targeted training has seen more than 175000 people take up these learning opportunities since July 2020. That includes 80000 apprentices. We've seen Mana in Mahi a programme that supports young people to obtain trade qualifications and enter into lasting employment go from strength to strength with 4446 placements. All of this means that we're better placed to roll out the crucial plank of our plan and that is building infrastructure.Historical under-investment has been a handbrake on our economy. It's why we're planning for the next 30 years instead of electoral cycles. It's why we're investing $57.3 billion in infrastructure over the next five years alone. It's why we're modernising our schools. It's why we continue to rebuild our health system with 24 construction projects. It's why we're enabling more housing providing New Zealanders with greater choices in tackling congestion in the transport system rolling out telecommunications and energy infrastructure preparing the economy for the future. It's also why we'll fix the issue of persistent under-investment in our water services.I have said this before: when we look back on this period in our country's history I don't want us just to reflect on how we weathered the storm of a pandemic but what we built after. Our economy cannot afford to return to business as usual because the status quo is unsustainable and that's why tackling climate change will be a core part of our economic strategy.Climate change must not overwhelm us. In fact it is our greatest opportunity for new jobs and higher wages. For a country already earning a premium from our clean green and innovative image there is an opportunity to use that natural advantage to create new jobs in new industries. It will also reduce New Zealand's reliance on global energy prices. Other countries are moving to compete and seize the opportunities and New Zealand cannot afford to be left behind; not economically and not morally either. Not when the future of our exports will be built on a credible plan to bend our emissions curve and meet our targets. That's why this year our first emission reduction plan will put innovation and clean technology at the heart of our economic transition. We'll continue to support businesses reduce their energy costs through the Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry Fund which already has reduced lifetime emissions by 6.6 million tonnes. We'll continue to transition our transport fleet and already the clean car discount which came into effect has seen the number of new electric vehicles being bought each month triple. Alongside the clean car discount and clean car standards the low emission transport fund will begin supporting business to pilot new emission transport technology.You'll know we'll continue with the green investment fund which has quadrupled the amount of investment in low carbon technologies. We'll continue the work of He Waka Eke Noa and in our partnership supporting more farmers to adopt existing measures and technologies to reduce on-farm emissions.The Opposition claim they share our climate ambition. Why then have they opposed almost every initiative that would bring our emissions profile down? Climate change is a challenge we cannot postpone just like child poverty just like housing just like mental health.New Zealand has entrusted the Government with the responsibility of bringing this country through our current crisis but all of those challenges as well and we will continue to do that. But we will do more than that. We'll provide stability a united team and a singular focus on a recovery that even after a crisis leaves New Zealand better than we found it.SPEAKER: The question is that the motion be agreed to. Those who are of that opinion will say Aye—"