Brownlee GerryHon GERRY BROWNLEE (National—Ilam): The last two speakers Louisa Wall and Dr Liz Craig have I think both resorted to the notes provided by the Labour research unit putting what can only be described as a gloss on a pretty messy situation that the Government presented in the 2018 Budget. The very first point I'd make is that the current financial year doesn't finish until July so when you had the Hon Grant Robertson come into the House today and wax lyrical about how wonderfully the economy is going all of that relates to the previous nine years and in particular to the 2017 Budget.What is really really interesting is the focus that we've just heard on health and how much money is apparently being poured into the health system and how much the health system has been neglected. The facts are that in the nine years National was in Government there were 12 new hospitals built throughout New Zealand at huge expense. There were increases in the capital budgets for district health boards (DHBs) and while you've got a number of DHBs who've been operating in deficit you have to see that deficit as being a very very tiny tiny fraction of the total expenditure from health. The only factually correct information given to us through Louisa Wall the speaker previous to the last one was that 21 percent of GDP is represented in the health budget. So if you think about the whole size of the New Zealand economy the very tiny amount that represents deficits should never be considered a problem and in many many cases it would be an indication that appropriate spending levels are being met and that services are being provided. Stories like the sewage in the wall at Manukau—we've heard a lot about that over the last few weeks. I'm told that that was an incident that occurred on one day and was fixed within an hour. That's the sort of normal maintenance that you expect on a building—it doesn't condemn the entire health system.These members interestingly talk about how wonderful it is that there is so much going into health when in fact the 2018-19 Budget has less going into health than National committed in 2017-18. There is a fall in the current allocation to health from the last Budget—a National Budget—to this one and these guys are coming into this House with the Labour Party research notes expecting that they could present some sort of utopia arrangement that's come about simply because they're currently in Government.I recall members on that side of the House when National brought in free healthcare for under-13s expressing their disappointment about how inadequate that was. I can remember Ron Mark standing in this House saying that it was not good enough it should have been under-18s and if a New Zealand First Government was formed then that's something that New Zealand First would demand of any new Government. They would insist on it—free healthcare for under-18s as a matter of priority. Well Mr Mark I don't know whether you were in the room when the Budget was constructed—clearly not—because that's not what's happening. What's happening is the extension that the National Government had previously announced and carried through as an election promise. So Labour are now delivering on election promises from National with the support of New Zealand First.The big problem of course is that the outlook for the economy has worsened. When we left office the predictions from Treasury—maybe it was just the kids in Treasury" I don't know. But they were predicting a 3.5 percent growth which would fluctuate to an average of 4 percent over the next five to six years. And now—and now—that's down to 3 percent and why? Because the Government have made some spending choices that just don't make sense. Now I don't want to be hard on New Zealand First but let's be clear: a billion dollars for better-quality gin better-quality cucumber and more sandwiches for the big diplomats who are being deployed in places like Sweden will not make a single difference to the New Zealand economy. If Winston Peters had come into the House and said that we were putting all of that money over the period that it's dedicated to into the trade agenda I think we'd have understood that—I think we'd have understood that. But when it comes to just simply saying that New Zealand's position in the world is going to be enhanced by having more diplomats out there it tends to run against the whole idea of us being in a more you'd say electronic world and effectively means that this Government wants better-quality embassies around the world so that when they're swanning about on their big trips they've got nicer places to entertain those who they—Greg O'Connor: You would know Mr Brownlee. You would know.Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: —drag along for the gin and the cucumber sandwiches.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Poto Williams): Order! Do not bring the Speaker into the debate.Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: I want to make it very clear to the member over there—a former West Coaster who's clearly lost his roots; he's now very much an urbanite—that the gin and cucumber circuit was not one that I fully participated in at any point during my brief tenure. Then of course there is this extraordinary decision to say "Right the first year of your studies at a tertiary level will be free." Now on the face of it I can understand how people might say "That's quite good." but what about the second-year students the third-year students the fourth-year students the second-year apprentices the second-year people and the third- and fourth-year people in other training who will meet all of their own costs? And then of course the expectation that the numbers would blossom due to this policy is completely failing with an expectation that 900 fewer young New Zealanders will enter training in a tertiary sector during the period—Hon Louise Upston: How many?Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: Nine hundred million—sorry 900 this year alone which is a fall in the number. So they go out and give something for free and 900 fewer people turn up to take it. How does that work? It doesn't. All it means is that there is a squandering of that money on things that might have made a difference. Perhaps New Zealand First would have got what it wanted in the health sector—who knows?And then of course there is the issue of the 1800 new police. Well how do we count the 1800? First start with the 880 that National had funded—start with the 880 that the National had funded—and then let's lower the standards because that's coming. Let's lower the standards. I dare anybody in this House to go out to the Police College and ask what changes they've made in the arrangements for their recruits in the last 18 months. Standards dropped. So we have a strong police advocate now inside the Government and standards dropping we have 880 of the 1800 new police funded by the previous Government and we have a claim by the current Government that those who are sworn are actually new policemen. Well the reality is they can't arrest anybody. They won't attend any of the Saturday night difficulties that so many of our police courageously deal with; they will simply be bean counters—you'd say "desk jockeys"—back in the stations. They're necessary. No doubt about it—they're necessary. But don't try and hoodwink the public into believing that they are part of an active front-line police force. They are not.Then can I save my final remarks for the extraordinary Provincial Growth Fund. No one would begrudge the regions developing in the way that they're capable of. No one would begrudge the regions making better of the resources that they have available to them. We left office with a series of documents that were produced over a period of years in conjunction with the regions looking at how they might develop. Those documents will be the blueprint for the giveaway that Shane Jones engages in over the next couple of years. To have suggested that somehow this is a unique thing to New Zealand First is completely wrong and I notice that there's already quite a backing away from what the criteria will be for people to be able to get it.Today we saw the greatest irony of all where Mr Jones himself asked the Minister for Māori Development to confirm that there will be Māori development grants for Māori organisations to put together proposals to seek grants from the Provincial Growth Fund. That is the sort of ridiculous thing that we're going to see a lot more of over the next couple of years. It indicates that Treasury views on what is likely to happen in the economy—a retraction. And just think about this: under the previous Government 10000 new jobs a month were created; under this Government 4000—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Poto Williams): I apologise to the member; your time has expired. This is a split call I understand. Darroch Ball you have five minutes."