Ross Jami-LeeJAMI-LEE ROSS (National—Botany): Wow! Megan Woods is a bit grumpy. I guess 9 years in Opposition does that to them. Well she can get used to it because having listened to Andrew Little so far in the House this year having seen him without his glasses up at Waitangi saying he would not go back again and having seen him on the news stuffing up his big captain's call around Willie Jackson I can envisage that Labour members are thinking that they are going to be spending a lot longer there sitting on that side of the House.From listening to the Opposition from listening to the Labour Party members talking about how New Zealand is going backwards in their view and why New Zealand must be one of the worst countries in the world to live in according to what they are saying you would think that things are terrible. You would believe that if you listened only to the Labour Party members. You would believe if you listened to the Green Party that the great plans of protectionism and closed economies that they believe in will work well. We are already seeing what is happening in the United States when you have got a leader who believes in protectionism and closing down the economy.New Zealand is doing well. New Zealanders are succeeding. New Zealanders are seeing more jobs. New Zealanders are seeing higher wages. New Zealanders are seeing greater opportunities. I have to say to the Opposition that if things were so bad in New Zealand if this country was going down the drain in the way that they are saying why would we have been seeing 130000 people gaining a job in the past year? Why would we have been seeing that? Why would we be seeing average wages going up at double the rate of inflation? If New Zealand is so bad why would that be happening? If New Zealand was such a bad place why would we be seeing NCEA achievement results going up every single year? Māori achievement rates under NCEA are the fastest-gaining achievement rates in the system. Māori achievement rates are rising faster than any other sector group. If New Zealand was so bad why would we be seeing that?If New Zealand and the National Government were so bad why would we be seeing a conservative Prime Minister going to places like Rātana going to places like Ngāti Whātua's marae and talking to them about the relationship that we have with Māori? If the National Government was so bad as Labour likes to say why would we see the Minister of Justice today announcing that we will scrap the convictions of those who had convictions under our old anti-homosexual laws?We are actually a progressive party that is working hard to achieve things for New Zealand—not progressive in the way they like to talk about progressivism. We are progressive as in we are doing things for New Zealand progressive as in we are getting runs on the board for New Zealand progressive as in we are building a country that is seeing opportunities for New Zealanders. We are seeing a place where children in this country can go to school get a good education go to university and get a job. They are seeing an education seeing a future and seeing a future for their family as well. We are seeing a country that is the envy of countries around the world.Opposition members like to say that Bill English is some terrible Prime Minister like he does not know what he is doing. If that was the case why would Finance Ministers around the world be knocking on his door asking how he managed the New Zealand economy over the past 8 years? Growth rates are at 3.5 percent—faster than the average in the OECD. We are seeing those jobs created as I talked about. Inflation rates are low. The Reserve Bank Governor has got a difficult job; he is trying to get inflation rates up to get within his target because inflation is so low in New Zealand. We are seeing the economy continue to diversify we are seeing investment in infrastructure and we are seeing future opportunities for New Zealand. Bill English is not the same Bill English of 2002. The Opposition members think they have got an easy task on their hands—2002 was a long time ago. This Government now led by Bill English is delivering for New Zealand and I am proud to be part of his caucus going into the 2017 election.I am also proud to be part of the caucus that has endorsed and seen a half-billion dollar investment in law and order—half a billion dollars. The Labour Party the Greens New Zealand First—they can pluck whatever number out of the air that they want but the reality of the situation is that New Zealanders want to see investment in law and order and we are delivering that. We have already seen 600 police officers put on to the streets. We are seeing crime rates that have come down since 2008. We have seen reoffending rates come down since 2008. Now we are investing even further: half a billion dollars into more police; 1100 new police employees for New Zealanders to keep them safe. More money is going into Corrections as my colleague talked about about 20 minutes ago. More money is going into the wider justice sector—all designed to ensure New Zealanders will be safer.But it is not just about numbers in the police force. It is not just about Corrections officers in the prisons. It is about doing better things for New Zealanders and getting better outcomes and we are seeing that as well. If we were the nasty conservative Government that they like to make out that we are why would we be seeing more people getting access to rehabilitation programmes? Why would we be seeing more New Zealanders with more money in their pockets even through the benefit system if we were the nasty conservative Government that did not care about people? Why were we the Government that put benefit rates up for the first time in 40 years?If we are such a terrible Government that is so bad for Māori—as they like to make out—why would Māori achievement rates be going up? Why would Treaty settlements be progressing at a fast rate? Why would we be seeing smart Māori New Zealanders coming to National and saying: We are actually achieving. Our whānau are doing well. They're getting jobs they're getting access to education and we're seeing better opportunities for them in this country." The National Government led by Bill English is doing good things for New Zealand. The National Government led by Bill English is seeing New Zealand families do well and I am proud to be a part of that.The Opposition members are trying to say throughout all their speeches—their new line appears to be that he is a caretaker leader and that he is only filling in. Well I think when they talk about that they are actually talking about their own leader. If they think they can get into Government with 30 percent of the vote and with 10 percent of New Zealanders saying they want their leader then it is not going to happen. They know that 3 months before the September 23 election they have that golden opportunity to change their leader without having the unions vote. They will be able to change their leader—Grant Robertson: What are you talking about?JAMI-LEE ROSS: —without that union jack-up in their rules. Grant Robertson has just come into the Chamber. Grant Robertson knows that 3 months out from the election—that is his opportunity. Grant Robertson Jacinda Ardern—they will be there ready to take over because Andrew Little is failing. Andrew Little is not delivering for the Labour Party. Poto Williams knows that he is not delivering for the Labour Party and Poto Williams is about the only member on the other side who has shown the integrity that they probably need. They know that Andrew Little is not succeeding. When you see the grumpy angry man that Andrew Little is and you contrast that with Bill English and Paula Bennett who are getting runs on the board and who are achieving things for New Zealand it is easy to see why New Zealanders will be choosing to continue with the plan that is working when they come to the election in 2017.We have had a number of announcements since January since the start of the year. We have seen NCEA rates going up. We have seen half a billion dollars for law and order for New Zealanders. We have seen more building activity in the economy. Building activity is at $19 billion right now. Consents are double what they were a decade ago. We are seeing 30000 consents being issued in New Zealand. Auckland build rates are at record highs for the past decade. We are seeing more supply coming into the market. We are seeing more New Zealanders getting access to home loans and access to funding to help them get into a home through the KiwiSaver HomeStart scheme. We have seen more ultra-fast broadband funding being put into place with a $300 million UFB package to see greater access for UFB for New Zealanders. We are seeing families succeed as well.Every single member on this side of the House is proud to stand behind Bill English. If you look the Opposition in the eye and they ask themselves whether they are really proud to stand behind Andrew Little when they are honest with themselves I do not think they will come up with the same answer that we have. New Zealanders want to see more jobs they want to see more opportunities in education they want to see a healthier workforce they want to see opportunities for their children they want to get access to doctors and they want to continue to see the economy continue to go from strength to strength and we are delivering that on this side of the House. It is going to be an interesting year. I am looking forward to it. We have got the team to succeed for New Zealanders and I think that New Zealanders will see that fairly soon."