Ardern JacindaRt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister) (remote): It is a pleasure to speak to this Budget the fifth we've had the privilege of delivering and in no less extraordinary circumstances. The business and cycle of Government is in some ways no different to life itself: navigating difficult times while also making necessary progress dealing with the unexpected and always—always—planning for the future; challenges not least of which include a one-in-100-year health crisis followed by the biggest economic shocks since the Great Depression. And just as the world was recovering it's been plunged into the uncertainty of war.Giving people as much certainty and security as possible in uncertain and insecure times is hard but it's what we must pursue and that is what we have set out to do in Budget 2022: deal with the immediacy of the economic and health challenges Kiwis are facing while also looking to the challenges of tomorrow and seeking to buffer our people from both. It's an approach that as always is focused on people.Today we deliver our fourth wellbeing Budget. Now my virtual presence in the debating chamber is obviously not my preference on such a significant day. It means for instance that I'm not able to pay tribute to the Minister of Finance Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson in person. New Zealand has navigated some incredibly difficult times in recent years. It was only two years ago for instance that the Minister of Finance created the COVID Response and Recovery Fund and delivered a jobs Budget that included investments in business support infrastructure and trades training. It protected half of all workers in New Zealand. It delivered a record amount of new apprentices. It enabled us in spite of a pandemic to deliver our nine-thousandth additional public housing place an economy bigger than even before COVID and the lowest unemployment rate on record.Now these results weren't a given. When COVID first emerged we faced sobering forecasts. Treasury predicted 10 percent of people would be unemployed. That would have meant hundreds of thousands of people looking for work and the financial scarring that would bring. Now today's statistics speak for themselves numbers that it is clear the Leader of the Opposition has not read. Our growth rates are higher than pre-COVID and in this Budget forecast to reach 4.2 percent over the next financial year. Now compare that to the aftermath of the global financial crisis (GFC) where rates were less than half that at around 2 percent. Debt sits at 16.9 percent and it's forecast to reach 15 percent in 2026. We've had a bigger economic knock from the pandemic but managed with a smaller debt impact than the GFC. We will return to surplus in the 2024-25 financial year a total of five years after COVID hit; compare that to the GFC where it took six.Finally unemployment sits at 3.2 percent and is forecast to reach as low as 3 percent. Māori unemployment sits at 6.3 percent and Pacific at 6.7 percent. And while we have work to do compare those figures to the GFC where for our Māori and Pacific families it was more than double those rates. Now that is not to say that times aren't tough for many New Zealanders right now—they are and not just here but around the world—but in the midst of a crisis in the midst of such tough economic times globally we are well placed to recover with one of the best economies in the world. And while there are many reasons for that Grant Robertson is one of them and for that I thank him.It was Labour who got us through COVID and it is a Labour Government who will get us through the next set of challenges as well and that is what this Budget is all about: addressing the challenges of today but also of tomorrow. Now when it comes to today there is no more universal challenge right now than the cost of living: globally we know that we're not alone as inflation pushes up prices around the world. The average rate of inflation in the EU is 7.7 percent. It's high in Canada in Germany. Just yesterday the UK hit 9 percent; in the Netherlands it's nearly 10 percent. And while there are many reasons for it one thing that forecasters are predicting is that it will improve in the latter half of 2022. But that doesn't help Kiwis now and while we can't control global inflation forces our job is to take the hard edges off it for Kiwis and that is why this Budget includes a cost of living package to cushion the impact for middle and low income families. Now we've had to be incredibly careful in developing this package to make sure it reached those who needed it most. Anything too broad could make inflation worse and that's exactly what the National Party's tax cuts to the wealthiest would do. They would feed inflation while giving the biggest benefit to those who need it the least.We also needed to make sure that our response was sustainable and that it eased pressure on families who are also keeping up the investment in their healthcare system and in their education system. After all no one would thank us for short-term relief that came at the expense of long-term services that Kiwis rely on. And we also wanted to make sure that what we did was timely. The result is the cost of living package we've delivered today. First it continues the reduction of the cost of fuel at the pump by 25c a litre through till August. The war in Ukraine is continuing to make prices volatile and this is some certainty that we can provide in the meantime for everyone.Secondly in August a short-term and targeted cost of living payment kicks in helping to transition from the excise reduction. It will be paid to middle and low income earners over the age of 18—everyone who earns up to $70000 who isn't already getting the winter energy payment. It means those who are doing the vital but unpaid work of caring such as stay-at-home parents will be eligible for the payment which will be paid monthly for three months and equates to an extra $27 a week or $350. In total it will ease the pressure for more than 2 million people and means that 81 percent of New Zealanders aged 18 and over will either be receiving the winter energy payment or the temporary cost of living payment this year.Now no temporary fast relief can be perfect but it can make a difference. Thirdly half-price fares for public transport will remain through August and then a new change kicks in: all community services card holders will continue to be able to travel for half-price permanently. This change will not just last through the current inflation spike but for good because we believe subsidised public transport makes a difference for people and the planet.Fourthly as part of our urgent Budget night legislation we begin the process of addressing the root causes of high prices in our grocery sector. We have a lack of competition in this country and it is impacting food prices and it's impacting families. While there is much to do following the Commerce Commission report we are starting today with unravelling some of the tactics to block competitors—that I can assure you is just the start.Finally today we right a longstanding wrong that hits those who can least afford it when the cost of living spikes. For those on Government support we are finally dealing with the issue of child support pass-on. Many people may not know this but in New Zealand those who are on Government support do not receive the child support payments made by an ex-partner spouse or parent. Whatever payments are made are retained by the State. That is unfair on a child and also lessens the incentive for a parent to pay. Budget 2022 changes this. It means our kids—those with a parent often on the lowest of incomes—will get extra support not from the Government but from their parent and it will lift up to an extra 14000 children out of poverty.While in this Budget the forecasts show that cost of living pressures are set to subside there is no question that while they are here it hurts. We've done what is possible to blunt the hard edges while ensuring we don't pour more fuel on the inflation fire. It's a position other countries we compare ourselves to are taking as well and that's one of the reasons I would hope the Opposition would support the package we have presented today. In fact I call on them to do so because in the Leader of the Opposition's speech I hear not one other idea—not one. Now I know that they're opposed to the 1 April income changes we made to increase the family tax credit. They've spoken openly against subsidies for things like public transport in the same way they have opposed just about any climate-related policy even ones that ease the cost of living. They have a policy of giving $2 a week to those we have proposed giving closer to $30 a week. But if they are genuinely concerned about the cost of living and not just politics surely they will support this package because it does more for people here and now and it does not leave the tin empty when there are so many other challenges we must address. If it is that they would rather stick with their policy of tax cuts for the top-income earners then we know for sure that they don't support the substantial health investments in this Budget—because you cannot do both.That brings me to our health system. New Zealanders know how excellent it can be. I frequently receive letters from New Zealanders so grateful for the care they've received but it is often supplemented with this: please do more to improve the system our health professionals work in.Today Budget 2022 provides the largest ever investment in our health system: $11.1 billion more for nurses more medicines and to end the postcode lottery to ensure that Health New Zealand and the Māori Health Authority are able to make the changes needed to deliver better health services to all New Zealanders whether they live in Tairāwhiti Buller Whāngarei Masterton or Dunedin. And yes we have given health certainty about their future budgets to help them plan—something I see the Leader of the Opposition has taken issue with once again showing he's more of a short-haul than a long-haul kind of guy; or perhaps more accurately if you live the regions no haul.In this Budget we're also making the largest ever single contribution to Pharmac's medicines budget bringing total funding to $1.2 billion up 43 percent since we took office. I'm going to say that again: Pharmac funding is up 43 percent since we took office.Our lifesaving ambulance services: supported to recruit an extra 248 more paramedics and front-line staff and 48 more ambulances as well as chopper replacements.We know that COVID has left scars on the mental health of many New Zealanders. So $202 million has been allocated to further improve access to mental health and addiction services particularly for those with acute needs. And we are continuing to invest in two programmes that support young people's mental health: Mana Ake which provides mental wellbeing support for primary and intermediate school-aged students; and Piki a pilot scheme which provides integrated mental health and addiction support for young people. And I acknowledge the Green Party's support for these programmes.But I want to make mention of one of the smaller initiatives in the health budget: $7 million for more portable retinal cameras to check the eyes of premature babies to address one of the leading causes of blindness in children.A third of Budget 2022 investments go to health. In the wake of a health crisis we know how important our health system and the health of our people is. This investment speaks clearly of the priorities of the Government: the importance of the wellbeing of our people and the vital services they deserve. We are nothing without our health. And there can be no greater response to the COVID pandemic than ensuring we have better funded and stronger health services—and that is what this Budget delivers.We know there are a myriad of other challenges we face. While in Opposition I remember once speaking to a social worker who had been in the job for 30 years about what we could do as a nation to change the sometimes intergenerational issues children face. Without hesitation her response was one word: education. Now no one wants to oversimplify what past Children's Commissioner Russell Wills called wicked problems. And while there are many contributing factors to complex societal issues we need to look at both prevention and the cure. Yes we must support the police to bring a stop to violent behaviour and for there to be consequences for those who victimise others but we must also support our young people on to alternate paths. That's why we've put not just half a billion dollars into law and order initiatives to deliver the largest police force ever we're also a Government committed to delivering quality education training and skills development so that all New Zealanders get the opportunities they need and deserve to live lives of value.Budget 2022 invests $2 billion in operating funding and $855 million in capital for the education system. The new Equity Index relegates the decile system to the past. We take the largest step forward yet towards pay parity for our early learning teachers. We're supporting Māori-medium education and kaupapa Māori sector. And beyond this skills and training is a further area where we invested throughout the COVID pandemic to ensure that we retained and built a workforce for tomorrow as our economic recovery took off. We have the lowest unemployment rate on record and so we need to reach into every corner to grow our domestic workforce. Successful programmes like Mana in Mahi which provide significant support to people furthest from the labour market to upskill and enter employment receive continued investment in this Budget. We've also extended the Apprenticeship Boost.Just last week I received this letter in response to that pre-Budget announcement. Perhaps the Opposition member for finance for the National Party received it as well. Thank you for extending the trades apprenticeship funding. We are so happy at the stability and certainty this will give to my children's futures as they progress through the recently started mechanics and auto-electrical programmes. We all believed this programme would be cancelled from this August and so we're so excited about what this would mean. I come from an intergenerational depravity which is extremely difficult and severely restricts our lives daily. Witnessing my kids begin on an actual qualification pathway has been a life-changing and a very positive experience for me."More than 190000 Kiwis have been supported through our investment in trades training since the start of COVID with tens of thousands more supported today—all necessary as we continue for instance the considerable agenda we have on housing which continues in this Budget.Now that brings me to our partnership with business—so what I learnt the Opposition considers to be "corporate welfare". Small and medium businesses contribute 30 percent to our GDP. Many are poised to grow and have the potential to accelerate our economic growth which is why Budget 2022 invests in a new Business Growth Fund—$100 million over the coming year. But Crown investment is a minority shareholder alongside New Zealand's major banks ensuring easier access to upfront finance and the quicker production of more jobs. It works overseas—in the UK Ireland Canada Australia—and we've been told it fills a much-needed gap here.Finally we said that this Budget was focused on the challenges of tomorrow. No challenge is more present today and in the future than that of climate change. Where many choose to dwell on what can't be done we choose to move on what is not only possible but also the greatest opportunity in our history to move to a high-wage low-emission economy that provides security in good times and bad.We're delivering in an emissions reduction plan that puts us on track to meet our carbon budget. I acknowledge the Minister for Climate Response James Shaw for the work that he's done alongside us in Government to release that plan this week—which includes the biggest investment in climate action ever paid for through recycling the emissions trading scheme payments on pollution. This $2.9 billion investment is the most comprehensive plan New Zealand has ever had on the issue of climate change. It's because we cannot responsibly postpone a transition we need to start making today—one where every sector of society and the economy is considered part of the solution where we have warmer drier more energy-efficient homes more native climate sinks energy production that doesn't require fossil fuels an upskilled workforce and the most sustainable food production in the world.When our future generations look back I want them to see that we tackled climate change in the way we tackle all other crises: with people and the security of their future at the centre of our decision making because ultimately for Governments as with life we will always face challenges—it's not just how we manage a country through a crisis; it's how you manage the country out of one as well. New Zealand navigated COVID for two years better than most because we put people first. That is an approach that Budget 2022 builds upon tackling the issues we face today while also seizing the opportunities for a secure future for all New Zealanders because we must do both and with this Budget we are."