Young JonathanJONATHAN YOUNG (Chairperson of the Economic Development Science and Innovation Committee): Thank you Madam Chair. I'm very pleased to stand and be the first speaker in this debate looking at the Appropriation (2016/17 Confirmation and Validation Bill. This is a very important debate because it's reporting not just to this committee but to taxpayers on the investment that the Government has made in the previous year of their tax-paid funds.The economic development and infrastructure sector covers two select committees. The Economic Development Science and Innovation Committee is the one which I chair. We have 31 entities which report to us. We didn't see all 31. We received 14 of those entities but we work in a cyclical fashion where those who didn't actually come here for a hearing and very specific questions from the committee will certainly be coming to the next round of reviews. However we have asked every entity to report back to us—which they have—through a series of written questions.Just very briefly if I could just touch on who those entities are: AgResearch Callaghan Innovation Crown Fibre Holdings—now called Crown Infrastructure Partners—New Zealand Post New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Radio New Zealand Television New Zealand the Accreditation Council the Broadcasting Commission the Broadcasting Standards Authority the Commerce Commission the Electricity Authority the Electricity Corporation of New Zealand the External Reporting Board the Financial Markets Authority the Institute of Environmental Science and Research the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences the Kordia Group Landcare Research the Metrological Service of New Zealand the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research the New Zealand Forest Research Institute the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research the Productivity Commission the New Zealand Tourism Board the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund the Public Trust the Real Estate Agents Authority the Research and Education Advanced Network of New Zealand the Takeovers Panel and the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE). So in that group of entities there are certainly some very significant players and investors into the New Zealand economy—over 30 entities for which we have the responsibility of reviewing. We heard from 14 this particular year.I want to touch on the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment which is essentially the penultimate group that often coordinates amongst many of the others. Their aim is to grow New Zealand for all and we heard them as they talked about the projects that they have continued to fund and support from the previous Government and also the ones they continue under this Government. This review looks at the past 12 years but also current activities. So with an entity that has such a large number of employees—3400—that has 16 portfolio Ministers and that monitors or funds 26 Crown entities and companies it was important for us to have a significant period of time in which we could review them and we did. We spent an hour and a half with MBIE and we are very thankful to them and the number of officials who came to see us.The goal of the ministry is to create a resilient and high-performing economy that delivers real and ongoing improvements to the quality of life for all New Zealanders and specifically works to increase real household incomes through more competitive businesses and increased job opportunities and more affordable housing. I think those are goals which every single member of Parliament in this House certainly supports. Its responsibilities cover a wide range of areas including immigration science and innovation communications energy and resources regional development housing building regulation tourism and Government procurement. We were very keen to hear certainly in the committee of the continuation of their work. We were also keen to hear the challenges that they will be monitoring when it comes to some of the goals that have been placed before them even by the present Government.We were concerned to hear that there is a shortfall of 51000 workers in the construction sector. We know what such an important area this is for the people of New Zealand. We were also concerned to hear of the goals that they are administering in terms of the building programmes of the Government to ensure that the quality of those builds is maintained. They gave us that assurance and we will be back to listen to them in a year's time. Thank you Madam Chair.