Eagle PaulPAUL EAGLE (Labour—Rongotai): Thank you Mr Speaker and it's my pleasure to be able to speak in the general debate and bring some happiness because too often I'm placed on the list about now—all the anger and unhappiness is outpoured but I always have to bring the good news. Time and time again I have to bring the good news so here I am yet again placed right on the right spot on the agenda to talk about something I really love and that's infrastructure. There's no better place to talk about that good news than the wonderful Chatham Islands which I represent—those good people who live in that isolated community 800 kilometres offshore between Wellington and Christchurch. I say that because six years ago that community sat down and came up with an investment strategy; an infrastructure plan that said these are the things that matter most to these people. The bread and butter stuff that they said If we're going to have a good decent life in Aotearoa New Zealand these are the things that matter most." They include and thanks to the Provincial Growth Fund bringing the islands into the jet age being able to get there to that community—a vulnerable community in a sense. Thankfully five years on $50 million later—what a good investment—they were delivered a runway extension to ensure that that community is resilient going forward.I want to also add too that some of you may not know that they would have been the last people in this country to receive the mobile phone. We take it for granted. A year and a half on those residents there now have access to mobile technology; a wee communication with someone who owns Starlink to enable those satellite dishes to be turned on. They have access to Starlink and a mobile phone network. The then Minister David Clark was quite shocked to learn that. He said "So I'm going there to turn on a mobile phone network to make the first call back to the mainland?" But those are the differences that a small investment but a good investment makes helpfully delivered by Crown Infrastructure Partners the rural connectivity group which comprises our three network providers to literally get poles in the ground on the best sites so not only Chatham Island but Pitt Island too so those residents can do what we take for granted. Most of the students have to go to the mainland for boarding school once they reach the age of 13. I wonder what it's been like for them to come home during the school holidays and be able to keep participating in the lives that they enjoy on the mainland. That's good news for them because they are able to do the basic things that every other New Zealander has the right to do. During the Budget I was really happy to see that the $10 million was allocated for renewable energy. It's diesel generated a bit like Stewart Island / Rakiura and other isolated islands in New Zealand. But here we are here where there is no reason why renewable energy—so windmills solar power which many of them already have taken their own initiative to say "This is the best way to bring our power bills down." And they have probably some of the highest in the world. I think that was unacceptable. I think we could have done a lot better and we did and I thank Minister Woods for that because it sounds like a lot of money but certainly it's not when you say "Look this is just basic stuff: being able to turn on the power keep that power running have a cup of tea keep your mobile and your laptop charged and live a decent life with dignity."Former Minister Nash sitting in front of me here with tourism—the cultural tourism product on that island is unseen by most New Zealanders. The good news is that the Tourism Infrastructure Fund provided just a little bit to unleash and to uncover some of the secrets of the Chatham Islands. Look I offer any member a hosted tour to take them across and see these are the things that matter most to these people of New Zealand. To cap it all off can I acknowledge the local council there where the CEO will finish after 21 years in the job—Owen Pickles—53 years in local government and that Crown appropriation that we give them to enable those citizens to live with basic services as any council would is delivered by them."