Sio Hon Aupito WilliamHon AUPITO WILLIAM SIO (Minister for Pacific Peoples): Thank you very much Madam Deputy Speaker. That was a typical Opposition speech during these particular debates. We will continue to hear in the House that line of speech over and over again as they try to clutch at anything to criticise this Government's Budget. That speech was typical but one would need to understand the issues that the Opposition is facing. Ms Amy Adams is probably putting in a pitch to become the leader of the National Party not too far away.But this is Budget 2018. It's a new Budget. It's a new Budget for a new Government that has been in Government only six months. This Government is made up of three distinct parties: Labour New Zealand First and the Green Party. All three parties agree that the direction where this country has been heading is the wrong direction—the wrong direction. This is the first Budget of three in our first term and hopefully many more terms. This is the first Budget as this Government pivots this country to head into a different direction where we place people at the centre of our policy. That is a stark difference from where this country was heading under the previous Government where they were so fixated on tax cuts that only favoured the top 10 percent of high-income earners.We now have inherited problems that we anticipated would be there but we've uncovered that many many problems are much worse than we anticipated. Therefore we've decided that this Government cannot just sweep things under the carpet cannot just neglect these problems and believe they are not there. This Government—all three parties—is now committed to directing this country into a different direction where all peoples benefit from a strong and sustainable economy. Therefore our priority is immediately fixing some of the problems that we have inherited and putting in a firm foundation—with strong investment in the foundation—that will build strong families strong communities and a strong New Zealand. That's why we make no apology that our priorities are housing health education lifting incomes for families with children tackling poverty and prioritising the elderly and our young people in terms of our health system.This Budget resembles $11.4 billion of new net operational money. That sounds like a lot. It's going to be divvied out over four years' time. It sounds like a lot until you understand the magnitude of the problems that we have to tackle. Therefore in dividing it over four years we know that we're not going to solve all the problems that our communities the length and breadth of New Zealand are experiencing at the moment but we've got to start and we've got to tackle it head-on.For health there is $3.2 billion in operational funding plus $750 million in capital funding. Why is that $750 million in capital funding? Because we have got to fund new hospitals. We've got to fund existing hospitals. We did not know the extent of the problems—that the previous Government did not maintain our existing hospitals did not consider the growing population and did not consider the rising costs. It was cheaper to fix a hospital in 2009 than it is in 2018. Therefore we're not going to be able to fix all the problems in this first Budget but we are going to make a start and we make no apology about that.In my own neck of the woods in Middlemore South Auckland Middlemore Hospital has got issues that actually I'm angry about. I'm angry because somebody fiddled with the numbers. I'm angry about it because they knew the problems in 2002 but did not do anything about it. And so $11.5 billion will go in to try to fix the hospital there in Middlemore the reason being it is one of the busiest hospitals in all of New Zealand. The rest of the money will be distributed to hospital care throughout this country of ours—$3.2 billion is operational money. That money significantly is invested in ensuring that the elderly are able to receive healthcare when they need it and that our young people 13 years and under receive healthcare when they need it. These are the priority areas. We believe that if you're sick you should be able to see a doctor and get the healthcare that you need. You shouldn't have to avoid the doctor because it is costly and so fundamentally that's why that investment is for health.With education we know that the future relies on ensuring that the next generation gets the best educational qualifications and $2 billion is invested in ensuring that our young people are able to get a tertiary education and get a qualification. Education should not be for only those with money. Our belief as a Government is that everybody should receive the best education in a public system so that you're able to provide your contribution to this country. Housing is such a big issue. For nine long years the previous Government refused to acknowledge that there was a problem and even today they continue to talk as if there is no problem. We need to fix that problem. We need to fix it and so we are embarked on ensuring that every Kiwi deserves a warm dry home. We want to end homelessness and we will end homelessness by building more State houses by making emergency houses available.We also believe that there is a myriad of problems that some of our communities face. It's complex and therefore you can't fix some of the education problems that some families are facing or the health problems that they face unless they are properly housed first. That's why there's the investment in Housing First. It is our belief as a new Government that when somebody is housed when a family is properly housed then you can wrap support around them and help them with other problems that they might be experiencing. Homeownership is one of the keys and I am so pleased that with this Government the Minister of Housing and Urban Development and his associates that is our focus. When we're focused on homeownership it actually lifts the ability of the next generation to be able to work with confidence and to contribute with confidence to this country.For Pacific we have the lowest homeownership rate than ever before and we've seen it fall in the last nine years. It just pains me to think that if a person does not own their house today when they come to retire they will be spending a significant portion of the pension to rent somebody else's home. So homeownership is one of the keys and I and all of our colleagues here are going to be working really really hard to ensure that every Kiwi every first-time homeowner has the opportunity to be able to buy an affordable home. By September of this year we will begin to roll out the homes that we've built under the KiwiBuild scheme—$2 billion is how much that we've allocated for this.Look to give you some examples of just how bad things are for some communities particularly communities like mine in South Auckland we're worried that even though we've started the work even though we've begun the building process we're not going to be able to house people come this winter and that's why significant investment is also invested into transitional homes or temporary homes for some of those families. If we don't move people out of cars out of garages out of tents to properly home them in warm dry homes we're never going to be able to fix the problems that we've inherited from the previous Government.So it is the first of many Budgets. We know we're not going to be able to fix it straight away but we are determined to fix some of the immediate problems. We are determined to direct New Zealand towards a future where everybody gets the benefit where everybody makes a contribution to New Zealand. Thank you.