Luxon ChristopherDEBATE ON PRIME MINISTER'S STATEMENTCHRISTOPHER LUXON (Leader of the Opposition): Well thank you Mr Speaker. I move That the words after That" be deleted and are replaced with "this House has no confidence in this Government which is known for three things: wasteful spending an inability to get things done and for building bureaucracies instead of improving front-line outcomes for New Zealanders."I have to say that statement was written for Jacinda Ardern and read by Chris Hipkins. That's what happened there. We got the same laundry list the same slogans and the same spin that we've seen.Before I come back to that I rise wanting to acknowledge the huge physical devastation and the emotional toll that this cyclone has taken on New Zealanders. Like many MPs in this House I've been out and about in those impacted regions and I'm struck by several things. The first is that we have New Zealanders doing it incredibly tough when we think about just the families that have been displaced from their homes. I was at an Auckland evacuation centre and I met a fantastic young dad a single dad his wife had passed away four years earlier he had two children his son was about to go to high school and his bottom flat that he rented had been completely destroyed with all of their possessions and yet he was still staying really positive.Just two days ago in Gisborne I met a family of new New Zealanders that had just moved here from southern India through Singapore as trained engineers and the rainwater had come up so quickly that it had flooded their basement. They were clearly traumatised but for the actions of a good school principal connecting them with a local church and finding accommodation for them. But I got the sense they were spending more time in their car with their six-year-old and their three-year-old as a result.We've also seen communities that have been doing it incredibly tough. Late last night I talked to Craig Little the Wairoa mayor and he was just talking about some of the challenges of his community being cut off and the suffering and the pain that they've been going through and experiencing.A few days ago I was up in a valley north of Tolaga Bay and I met a lovely grandad who had not been able to contact his son and daughter-in-law and his four grandchildren for over five days. In that last hour he'd just re-established phone contact with them. But it will be days before they can actually get access into their place and be able to catch up in person.We think about those that are doing it incredibly tough that have lost their livelihoods. It was a kiwifruit orchardist who had had the kiwifruit orchard that he'd been building over the last three years—it cost $5.5 million to do so—completely destroyed two weeks out from taking the first harvest to defray some of those costs and destroyed by silt and destroyed by slash.I just say as an aside I think we need to come together in this House and actually take action with respect to forestry in this country because it is a great industry and it's something we want to continue to support. But it is the only sector I know that gets to internalise the benefit and to socialise the cost. We need to revisit practices. We need to revisit penalties and prosecutions as a result.We just do think of those families that have lost loved ones that are going through tremendous shock and grief readjusting to a life without their loved one in it. We just thank you for them and we think about them and our thoughts and our prayers are definitely with them.Over the course of the last week or so we have also seen the absolute best in New Zealanders as well. I just think of communities of strangers that in every region have come together to actually go to work and help their fellow Kiwi. I was part of a group of strangers that came together in Sunnynook and we went down in each other's cars we didn't know anybody and we were in a stranger's house removing carpet and putting furniture out so it could aerate. I was thinking about the community working bees that were taking place in Sunnynook but also in Puketapu that we saw just a couple of days ago. There have been great donations of food and new clothing that have come from places as I saw in my own electorate in East Auckland being sent up to people in Northland.We've also seen the best of New Zealand with respect to the bravery of our first responders and our rescuers. I had a privilege of spending time in Muriwai—that's a really tight community; 1100 people there everyone knows everyone. But those two volunteer fire service personnel who gave so much at such short notice and as volunteers stepped up. I spoke to fire service and St John's people that were with them on that night and they were incredibly brave. I think about an orchardist out of Napier who had lost a lot of his orchards almost totally devastated and yet had used his own personal helicopter to go off and do a lot of rescues and we should thank him and be grateful for him and that work that he did there. I got to see civil defence staff in local regions but I also want to say thank you to the emergency response Minister for letting me come in and observe what happens in the bunker here centrally in Wellington. All of our civil defence and emergency management people have worked incredibly long hours on a completely complex situation and have done an exceptional job with it. So we owe them all our deepest gratitude our deepest thanks and appreciation for everything they're doing. But Mr Speaker I tell you those stories because I think in the days and weeks and months ahead it's really important that we have those stories and those people at the forefront of our minds as we actually wrestle with the right response and recovery. It's important that we don't forget them; we don't forget that actually delivering for them—really getting things done for them—is what's going to matter here rather than just platitudes and nice statements. We need to make sure that we can do it right by them.And I think we've seen a great community response but I'd also say it challenges us to say that we need to continually upgrade our emergency management response. We will have sadly more events like this. I lived in America for a period of time and I remember watching Hurricane Katrina which was handled poorly and then seeing the subsequent upgrade of each subsequent event across the different states in the US. I think it's the same for us here: let's have a great community response but let's make sure we strengthen our responses as well. So with respect to the National Party there's two roles that we need to play here around this disaster and the first is that we want to be able to be supportive and constructive and offer constructive solutions. We know that this rebuilding effort is about New Zealand; it's not about politics right now. And right here right now our job is to make sure we are establishing contact with the uncontactable. It's about making sure that we are reaching into those isolated communities—up those valleys where people have been cut off from communications—and it's restoring that critical infrastructure: power water supplies fuel and communications that they so desperately need. So we need to carry on that work in the coming days. And we also want to be supportive and constructive. We have a playbook from experiences in Christchurch and also in Kaikōura—we've learnt lots from those experiences sadly. It's important that we actually support the Government in making sure that we can action those plans and that recovery in the way we want to—things like a targeted short-term wage support for impacted workers and businesses things like loosening our immigration settings so we can fast track the clean-up and the rebuild and things like making sure the banks actually stand by their customers for the coming years and actually support them. If there's any special legislation that the Government feels is needed—that actually enables a faster reconstruction and enables critical infrastructure to get built—we'll be very supportive of that. And obviously anything that gives dedicated leadership and gives single points of accountability so that things actually get done and things are well executed is important. So I say to the Government: that's what you should expect from us. We will be supportive and we will be constructive on the big set pieces that we need to get done well and done right and we'll be pragmatic and practical supportive and constructive around that. But we do have a second role and that is to hold the Government to account for its spending and for its delivery because it's really important now—more so than ever—that we actually get things done and we actually enable people to get ahead and we get them what they actually need at this point in time. I have to say to you that we feel some scepticism about that because we look back at this Government over the last five and a half years and we've seen a very poor record of delivery. What we've seen is some characteristics of this Government that are consistent and happen all the time: it wastes a lot of money it can't deliver anything it builds centralised bureaucracy and it forgets the front line and it forgets that it can partner with businesses and communities because it thinks it knows best and the Government knows it all and it can do it all here from Wellington thank you very much. And I'd just say to the Government: that is the complete opposite of what is going to be needed if we're going to get this recovery done and we're going to deliver our services back to our people and actually support the people when they need it. I'd just say to the Labour Government: get on with it get going get things done. Focus on those people—what is it today that we've provided them? Clarity specificity—so that they can move ahead they can make the next logical step to dig out of a place of hopelessness to a place of hope—is really important.I'd say we know that the rebuild is going to be expensive; we know that there was $3 billion spent on Kaikōura we know there was $15 billion probably spent in Canterbury. We know there were bigger impacts around lives and livelihoods as well. We've heard estimates of $10 billion with respect to this rebuild and recovery. But it's really important that the Government actually compartmentalises and defines that cost. We know and appreciate that we'll need to borrow the money to be able to fund a quality fast and good recovery. We get that; we understand that. But I have to say our concerns are all about delivery and it's all about us being quite sceptical of a Government that talks about "building back better." We've heard those words before: we heard them during COVID we heard them over the course of this year. It over-promises and it under-delivers. Do you remember when you talked about shovel-ready projects? That was a big one "We're going to move forward now we're going to build back better we're going to do shovel-ready projects." Great; fantastic. There's 49 of the 225 projects now completed; that's the reality of the delivery. Remember when the Government talked about "We're going to build KiwiBuild houses 100000 of them."; 1 percent of them actually built—1 percent of them actually built. Light rail was going to be promised to be delivered so opening up from Mount Roskill by 2021—hasn't even started anything. So it's lovely making bumper stickers and headlines as much as you'd like but you've actually got to do the work get below the surface and deliver outcomes. There's been no major roads started or completed in the last 5½ years by this Government—not one; zero. So started and completed—not happened in 5½ years.We had $60 billion spent on the COVID programme and we don't have a legacy of a better healthcare system. We don't have a legacy of better health infrastructure. There's no future legacy for a better improved health workforce. We've got little to show for it. We've spent a tremendous amount of money with little to show for it. So that is our concern. We will be supportive and constructive. We will hold the Government to account. We are deeply sceptical of this Government's ability to deliver and get things done. And what I'd say is I meant it earlier that was a Prime Minister's statement prepared for Jacinda Ardern but read out by Chris Hipkins and it just underscores what we've been saying: you can change the leader but it's the same team delivering the same poor outcomes. That's the reality of this Government. You can dress it up as much as you like you can appropriate and take as much language and change the language as much as you want but the reality is this is a Government that still can't deliver.It's pretty rich coming from a new Prime Minister who's been part of the old Government for the last 5½ years part of the Holy Trinity of Grant Robertson Jacinda Ardern and Chris Hipkins driving the programme for the last 5½ years who has a coming to Damascus moment and now decides it's all about getting things done and the cost of living crisis. It's quite unbelievable; it's not credible. You can say anything you want to do 10 months out from an election but there's nothing in the track record or the background that says he can get things done. You can't just turn the page and say it's all going to be different with some words; you have to demonstrate with actions that you know how to do it and you're going to get it done.It's the same old Labour. It's the same old thing. It's the same poor outcomes. And I tell you now the New Zealand people need more than a change of leadership in the Labour Party; they actually need a National Government that's going to get things done because here's the problems right? The same problems remain. It's still spin over delivery. It's still confusing activity with achievement. It's actually confusing inputs with outcomes—the things that matter most to New Zealanders. It's a Government that's addicted to wasteful spending. How do you literally spend $1 billion more each and every week hire 14000 more bureaucrats collect $17500 more tax per household and deliver worse outcomes on the economy on housing on health on crime on infrastructure on everything? It's a unique and special skill set. And then the Ministers who are responsible for those outcomes end up getting promoted. I mean it's the only organisation that you get to fail upwards in. It's a unique skill set—it's a unique and special skill set.And then it's also got the same attitude—and you know you can defer the jobs tax as much as you like you can fudge the three waters as much as you like you can talk about hate speech being deferred all that kind of stuff. But the reality is we know what your philosophy is: it is to centralise and control everything from Wellington because you believe that you know best. Think about the polytechnic mergers—unmitigated disaster 5½ years in. Think about three waters—still a debate 67 district councils having their assets stolen from them. Health restructure—how's that all going? Not so great.So we know what the problems are. We know that they exist. I just want to say that when you look at the bits that matter most to New Zealanders and the Prime Minister's started to talk about doing things that matter most I can tell you what matters most to New Zealanders is the economy. And what's happening is we have inflation at really high levels in this economy—higher than we've had it for many many decades. And the reality is this is a Government that said there was no cost of living crisis for most of last year; it's now supposedly a focus. That's not credible. It's just not believable that you can turn the page change some words and everything's OK—"nothing to see here". It's like a bad episode of Men in Black. It's literally that wand where you just "neutralise" someone's brain and do a "mind wipe". It's just not going to happen. It can't happen that way.This is the reality. The problem has been this Government hasn't had a proper underlying economic plan to deal with the underlying causes of inflation. They're not controlling costs they're not actually controlling Government spending at all we can see that there's no relief coming through to people the Reserve Bank is not focused and our immigration settings have actually been too tight and as a result that's driven huge amounts of domestic inflation. The real wages have declined in this economy for the last 2½ years. Wages are not keeping up with inflation and everybody is going backwards. Interest rates are rising. And just think about those families that are going to have $600 extra a fortnight in interest payments over the coming year. We've got more Kiwis cycling off their fixed rates. They're going to go from 3 percent to 6 to 7 percent and it's going to cost them a lot each and every fortnight. It only gets tougher from here. There's recession forecast. We need a plan to grow the economy; invest in education; invest in infrastructure; invest in research science and development; make sure it's a pro-business environment; and make sure we've got strong international connections to the world. That's what drives fundamental prosperity and productivity into our country.We've got to talk about crime because that's another area where the language has been tough—you know lots of talk but very poor action. It's been very soft on crime. Let's get clear on the outcomes—and the outcomes are really clear—violent crime is up over 20 percent gang membership's up over 56 percent and we have a ram raid every 15 hours in this country. We do not choose to accept that that is the new normal that that is acceptable by any stretch. Every Kiwi is owed a right to be able to feel safe in their house their community or their business—that's really important.We had a former Minister of Police who was presiding over that fund of $6 million that was supposed to be delivered to businesses in need—23 of them got help in eight months. That is startling execution and implementation—just fantastic! So I think it was quite a good decision to probably replace the former Minister of Police I suspect—good call.But I do want to talk in my remaining time about education because there's another place where we've had incredibly poor outcomes. How do you spend $5 billion more hire 1400 more bureaucrats and deliver the lowest poorest abysmal attendance rates we've ever seen in this country? Forty-five percent of our kids go to school regularly; 55 percent don't make regular attendance. Almost a hundred thousand are chronically absent from school. We have anywhere from 8000 to 10000 that have been permanently unenrolled from schools. Just stop and think about that: is that a First World response and set of outcomes? No it's not. It's not optional to go to school; it's compulsory that we go to school and get educated—it's really important for our future.So we've seen that that's the case. And then if you're lucky enough to actually get into the classroom we've seen slipping standards. Academic achievement is falling relative to other countries. We know that our kids are not where they need to be; they're not at curriculum when they move into high school. And so I think the best thing the Prime Minister has done in his short time in the role is to replace the Minister of Education and that was something we fully support.We can talk health. Why do Kiwis—now a quarter of Kiwis—wait more than six hours to see an emergency department? How have we gone from 1500 people waiting more than four months to see a specialist appointment to now we're at 44000? How do we have 32000 New Zealanders waiting on a surgery wait-list as a result? These are outcomes—that's what I'm saying: outcomes matter not just the activity; it's actually about the delivery and about getting things done.We can talk housing. And that's another one that was promised—that was a big promise lots of outcomes promised there but none delivered. You know homeownership's out of reach because the average house price is up another quarter of a million dollars. If you can't own one you end up renting one. That's another $150 a week in extra rent that's actually being passed on to tenants. If you can't get to own a house or rent a house you end up actually having to go on a State house wait-list. That's up four times. And if you can't get a State house wait-list you're in emergency accommodation. And that's 4000 families waking up in emergency accommodation. It's up four times. People living in their car—that's not great.So Mr Speaker what I say to you is that we are—you know we get it. We want to be supportive and constructive around the recovery. Let's frame what that investment needs to be—we'll support that we'll be constructive where we can be about that. But we have grave grave concerns. We are deeply deeply sceptical about this Government and its lack of ability to deliver.So I want us to realise that New Zealand is without doubt the best country on planet Earth. I can tell you—having done this job now for two years and as I go around it—we have the best people we have talented people we have world-class talent and we have endless potential in this country. But the reality is that we are not realising that potential at the moment. We are not delivering the outcomes we are not solving the problems that actually this Government said that it would solve. It's not getting outcomes it's not solving things it's not helping us realise our potential. And I know that this Government—the risk is it's going to make it much harder to get this recovery done. It's going to make it much harder. So please don't make it harder than it needs to be for the New Zealand people.I do genuinely hope that you get to manage this rebuild and that you actually help the people who are desperate because they need confidence and they need certainty and they clarity and they need to be able to get things done. But I can tell you right now if this Labour Government won't do it the National Government will pick it up in October. And we're very proud—we'll get elected and we'll go get this job done because that's really important to the New Zealand people. Thank you Mr Speaker."