Shaw JamesHon JAMES SHAW (Minister for Climate Change): Thank you Mr Speaker. I want to start by commending the very strong speech that the Hon Tracey Martin has just given about where things stand in this country both in terms of the situation and the challenge that we find ourselves at with domestic and sexual violence and the effects that that has on children and also on the Government's response to that. I thought that was very strong. I also commend her for whilst we're dealing with the current crisis lifting our heads up beyond the immediate horizon and focusing on some of the long-term challenges that are facing this country and that's actually where I'd like to pick up.As the Prime Minister said this week this has been a very difficult year—and I think in her own words frankly terrible"—and she's not wrong. None of us expected things to unfold the way that they have this year. COVID-19 has changed everything—everything. That which we used to take for granted we no longer can guarantee and we have all—including political parties—had to adjust to a new way of doing things and to rethink our future. Now I want to be clear. The Green Party absolutely supports the health response to COVID-19. We know that we need to act decisively if we are to get on top of this virus again and we would like to thank the people of New Zealand for following the rules that keep us all safe because if it were not for all of our actions—actions by all of us—we would be in a much much worse situation.The thing is as difficult as 2020 has been and as unpredictable as it will no doubt continue to be it has also taught us some incredibly valuable lessons. The pandemic has shown us the importance of community of looking out for one another that we are only as strong individually as we are collectively that COVID-19 has not created the cracks in our system but it has revealed them in the stark harsh light of day. Right now we're obviously dealing with the ongoing fallout of the pandemic a second wave that we were warned about but which many had not expected after weeks and weeks of living at level 1. My message to New Zealand then is that we will get through this just as we have before if we follow the medical advice backed by science if we continue to push back on attempts to stir distrust in information and if we look out for one another.But while we deal with a second wave we must also look beyond that because of course we are a couple of months out from an election and at this point in every election cycle we say that this is the most important election ever—"This election is critical." Now this time we mean it because this decision will come down to one thing: what is our vision for the future of Aotearoa. Do we try and claw our way back to the way things were before COVID-19 or do we think ahead and position ourselves for the long term to create a truly sustainable economy which creates prosperity without creating a climate crisis which protects the natural environment so that it can support and be enjoyed by our children and our children's children?Returning to business as usual is not an option. Even if it were possible to simply click our fingers and turn back the clock a return to business as usual means a future of climate breakdown ecological catastrophe economic inequality and social instability. If we spend the next few years resuscitating last century's economy with all of its flaws and its consequences then the window of opportunity to avert these future crises will have closed. We now have a once-in-a-century opportunity—a responsibility even—to change. A year ago few could have fathomed the situation that we find ourselves in today but 30 or 50 or 100 years from now when future generations look back at our response to this unprecedented series of events we need to be able to tell them that we were thinking ahead for them and for all of those to come.It's been tough; we can agree on that. We should be proud of our efforts and we must also think ahead and make smart choices now so we and all of those to come—and our planet—can thrive. Thank you Mr Speaker."