Stanford EricaERICA STANFORD (National—East Coast Bays): Thank you Madam Speaker. Well the cover of this year's Budget is rather different to the one that we got last year; a somewhat safer option of a beautiful landscape with snow-capped mountains I suppose in an attempt not to have a repeat of that family who moved to Australia for better opportunities and better pay—somewhat embarrassing for the Government. But it's a pretty good lesson that when New Zealand starts to slide backwards people look across the Ditch for better opportunities and it's relevant now more than ever when we compare the Australian recovery to our own in a post-COVID world.We've all seen the statistics: 43000 jobs lost so far 37000 in April alone—a thousand a week. This year's Budget had the opportunity to chart a great long-term recovery plan but unfortunately all we've seen is a borrow and hope Budget" with a $20 billion slush fund with absolutely no detail. Actually I need to correct myself there; I apologise. There is detail; it's just not detail that the finance Minister is going to share with the rest of New Zealand. Instead he's preferring to announce $200 million worth of spending every day like some kind of pre-election Advent calendar—except instead of a delicious chocolate treat you get a $200 million surprise which may or may not be informed by Labour Party polling. Remember last year when Minister Robertson couldn't get his hands on a capital gains tax? Remember that? So he snuck round the other side to try and get hold of the nation's credit card to put his expensive election promises on tick. Well this year we've handed our credit card over to him; it's got a $20 billion limit. We've got no idea what he's spending anything on until we get the statement in the mail. It's an eye-watering amount of Kiwis' money that is completely unaccounted for that will be spent in the lead-up to an election.To top it all off that certainty and relief that businesses were so desperate for was not delivered in this Budget. While we languish in level 2 for another week businesses are getting closer and closer to the wall. But hey according to Willie Jackson what's another week huh?But I want to turn my attention at this point to the environment because last month's Budget was massive—tens of billions of dollars borrowed. But the focus was on returning to normal business as usual and Kiwis expected more than that for the amount that we're spending. Money wasn't a problem in this Budget; the problem was a lack of vision especially a lack of green vision. While the Government divvied up the Budget funds in May they chose not to look to a greener future. Yes there were as Iain Lees-Galloway pointed out millions and millions in environmental expenditure that was appropriated in the Budget for environmental jobs. While I'm sure there are many people out there who are champing at the bit to shoot a wallaby or pull out a wilding pine as one commentator points out this feels more like a work programme to curb unemployment and would be better spent on transitioning our economy to a greener future.To that point there was no mention in the Budget of the Green Investment Fund. What ever happened to the Green Investment Fund? This was heralded as a big win for the Greens in the post-election negotiations. It was established to accelerate low-emissions investment in New Zealand. Nearly three years on not a single cent of that Budget has been handed out. Massive talk big announcement—which they love to do—zero delivery and whenever we mention it to James Shaw he clams up. Minister Shaw reminds us continually about the urgency of climate change the crisis while he sits on $100 million of climate mitigation funding for three years. There is once again for the third time running zero mention of the promise these guys made to electrify the Government fleet. As always big on talk no delivery. On top of this they vetoed the Waitaha small hydro scheme on the West Coast that would have provided power to 12000 homes.What about this Government's commitment to kauri dieback? They can't even sign off that money. Cameras on fishing vessels? That's gone out the window. A thousand vessels in the fleet 28 boats still have cameras and we all know why that is—thanks to Winston Peters and his lot. There are no cameras on fishing vessels and 14000 sea birds a year continue to perish. Urban water quality? Tackling our massive waste problem? I guess in the end the cover of the Budget was another gaffe. A beautiful environmental scene with snow-capped mountains—the lack of any transformational green spend in this Budget makes a mockery of that. If New Zealanders are going to pick up an $80000 bill per household in debt we should get something that we are proud of and this Budget is not that."