Clark DavidHon Dr DAVID CLARK (Minister of Health): I need at the outset just to correct something the previous member Mark Mitchell has said. There's been no $200 million pulled out of Pharmac. It's a line that continues to be repeated by that Opposition. We have a record combined pharmaceutical budget this year—a record combined pharmaceutical budget. This is a Government that cares about healthcare. We are investing in our healthcare services after nine long years of neglect under that former Government opposite who stripped billions—stripped billions—out of our health system. Let's talk about leaks for a minute—let's talk about leaks. In our hospitals we had leaks—we had leaks in our hospitals. That should never be allowed to happen but it did under that Government's watch. We had rot and mould in our hospital walls. That happened under that Government's watch. So it's a little bit rich to get lectures from that member opposite about investing in health services. This is a Government that's finally doing that. This is a Government that's finally recognised the stress and strain that our health system's been under that looks at the buildings that need maintenance that is investing in capital—the biggest capital injection in a decade into our health services. This is a Government that is investing more than they ever did in our health system year in and it will be year out. In order to make that investment we have a strong and cohesive Government that is supporting a strong economy and running a strong surplus and that requires strong leadership on the issues that matter to New Zealand. This is a cohesive Government running a strong surplus. If people don't take anything else home from this speech today that is my message because we are determined—we are determined—to continue to run an economy that is sustainable and that is inclusive of all New Zealanders so the benefits of productivity are shared with all New Zealanders. That's what this side of the House represents. We want a fair economy because that's also a strong economy. We know when we invest in New Zealanders that they are more productive and we are all better off. If kids go to school hungry they don't learn properly. That's why this Government is investing $5.5 billion in the Families Package. Those families with young children 384000 families in New Zealand when this package is rolled out will be $75 a week better off. That's investing where it's most needed: the parents with young families who are doing it tough. This Government is convinced about and committed to making sure that the benefits of the strong economy are spread fairly across the economy to make sure that kids don't go to school hungry that they are learning when they're at school. We want to make sure of course that we are doing the infrastructure spending that is needed. That's why we are saving for a rainy day. That's why we are paying down debt managing a debt situation. Of course Moody's has just reaffirmed New Zealand's Aaa rating—the best you can get—because Moody's recognises not only that we have got strong economic growth in our future higher than most countries we would like to compare ourselves with not only that we have strong growth strong fundamentals in the economy thanks to Minister Robertson who's not in the House today—thanks to the Minister of Finance's strong and stable leadership under this Government we continue to grow surpluses—but also that we are committed to paying down debt. [Interruption] I might also note because I can hear members of the Opposition shouting out that that National Party opposite when they were in Government borrowed more in nominal terms than any other Government in New Zealand history. They borrowed more than any other Government in New Zealand history. So it's a bit rich for them to shout out about these issues.Now we're paying down the debt. We're running a strong surplus and that's of course the track record of Governments that have a Labour flavour in them. The last Labour-led Government ran nine surpluses in nine years and left money for a rainy day. Of course we're prepared should another rainy day come along. That is part of why we are managing debt because we believe it's responsible should there be another earthquake or external shock—and there are storm clouds on the global horizon. We are managing the economy strongly and carefully so that if there is that kind of shock New Zealand will be prepared. We believe in running a strong economy. That's why we've stuck to our Budget responsibility rules but we've seen the economic growth figures: a 1 percent growth in the quarter to June 2018—that's just in the quarter—the largest quarterly rise in two years. Growth is broad and reported across 15 out of 16 industries. This is a strong and cohesive Government that is supporting a strong economy and running a strong surplus.